


The Intervention

by TheOnlySilverBlade



Category: Undertale
Genre: Brooklyn slang, It gets better I promise, Kennedy changes path of the game, Slight swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-05-21 00:20:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 48,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6031228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOnlySilverBlade/pseuds/TheOnlySilverBlade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kennedy Harris is faced with the different challenges of Undertale, including an unknown situation she dug herself into by accidentally drinking glowing water. Continuing on a path of confusion and adventure to get back to her parents, she unknowingly makes a few 'game-changing' decisions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Start of it All

**Author's Note:**

> I'll admit some chapters are better than others, but it gets better, I promise! Thanks for reading!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The journey begins!

Here's the character profile before we start:

Kennedy Harris

Age: 15  
Gender: Female

Skin: Brown

Eyes: Brown and Blue (You'll understand when you read)

Hair: Dark brown. Long and wavy with two beaded braids to the right side.

Personality: Daredevil, Punny ;-), Slightly insecure, Loyal to neither side, practically embodies integrity. 

Accent: Brooklyn 

Clothes: Big cloud gray jacket, bulky green pants with lots of pockets, and a black razorback tank top. She has white socks and brown mountain boots. (she's a hiker and climber) :-)

Chapter 1- The Start of It All

15-year old Kennedy Harris ran into her living room, nearly completely flopping on her father, who was watching t.v on the couch. "Oof! Kennedy, haha! What's got you so happy?" thirty-seven year old Andre said, observing his daughter's wide grin. "Why? 'S a crime to be happy?" Kennedy joked, sitting on the seat next to her dad. Andre laughed, muttering a small 'guess not', even though he knew his daughter always had a reason to be happy. After he had finally pulled himself away from his drinking habits, he had done his best to get to know Kennedy, and make up for all that lost time. Kennedy's brown eyes glimmered, and she looked up at Andre, who was pausing the t.v to talk to her. "Remember that hikin' trail up on fourth?" Kennedy asked. Andre raised an eyebrow. "What a'bout it?" He asked. Kennedy gave a determined smile. "I'm gonna climb it today! Already got packed with everythin' I need!" She answered. Andre now had both eyebrows raised. "You're serious? I don' know, Kennedy, that trail is pretty steep, ain't it?"  
"Psh. Hardly! I'll be fine! I climb mountains, remember?"  
"Yeah. Small mountains."  
"Ah, whatever. Dudn't matter. What does matter, is that I know how to climb them. Good 'nough, right?"

Andre shook his head and laughed. "A'right. As long as ya stay on the trail. I got work soon, so I can't go with ya." He answered. "That's fine, pops. I'll be back soon, anyway. Wouldn't want ya to hurt your back on the trail." Replied Kennedy. "Ay! 'M not that old!" Andre responded to his daughter's joke as she got up. She giggled a bit, then bounded up the stairs. Andre laughed again, checking the time on the television before deciding he had about ten minutes before work. Upstairs, Kennedy was getting dressed in comfortable, slightly slack green pants with lots of pockets, a black razerback tank top, and her usual gray jacket, wrapping a blank brown belt around her waist. She grabbed her hiking bag, packed with a switchblade and few snacks and drinks, along with her camera and blue, green-speckled bandanna. A few other bandannas were packed as well, so she could wear one if she pleased, and have a choice of what to make the flag she intended to put on the top of the hill out of. She slid down the railing of her stairs, stepping down the bottom one and straight ahead to the front door. "Tell Ma where I went when she gets home from shoppin', please!" She called to her father as she opened the front door. "Will do!" Andre called back, watching as his daughter closed the door behind her, feeling a sense of pride. Kennedy walked out to get her bike chained to the street sign in front of her house, then into rural streets of 'Forest-View Alpine, New Jersey', as her dad called it when they had first moved further from Brooklyn. There were lots of trees and a river down the road; no one would recognize they were in New Jersey at all down here if someone didn't tell them. Imani (Andre's wife) had really picked out a great house (if a little small), where Kennedy could continue growing up in her tomboy-ish lifestyle. 

It's true, the price to pay was a smaller house, with the kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom, and living room all downstairs when only a spare room and bathroom resided on the second floor. The washing machine and dryer even had to be moved into the downstairs bathroom, making it a bit crowded. But there was a better school for Kennedy, and lots of room to run and bike and play. Imani's whole life had become revolved around her daughter, and she was willing to do nearly anything for her benefit, much to Kennedy's liking. As Kennedy rolled her bike up the hill in the road, she thought about all the scenery she'd be able to see heading to the trail. It seemed very peaceful...until she reached the top. As soon as she saw a clear opening to the sharp hill below her, a rush of adrenaline hit her, and she smirked. Hoping onto her bike as fast as she could, her legs instantly started peddling, and she sped her way down the road. "Woohoo!" She called as she practically flew through the small neighborhood, speeding away with the wind blowing her hair backwards. Before she knew it, she was on the second street, passing cars and stop lights from the sidewalk. She laughed a bit at the freeing feeling, and then continued to peddle, passing small side stores, but mostly trees. Eventually, it was all trees, and the stop lights reduced to less and less numbers as she reached Third street. Of course, all these streets had real names, but Kennedy didn't bother to remember them. Instead, she numbered them, to know how to get home. She reached a steady stream of sidewalk, neither uphill nor downhill, which rose a bit more of a sweat from her. But she kept peddling, and reached the end of that segment, to a steady downhill. She smiled as she rode down it, passing a car on the way down. 

She came to a fork in the road, and made a turn to the right, (the sidewalk she was already on) onto Fourth street. The trees this way seemed to grow shorter, and a few bushes branched out onto the sidewalk. Pansies and dandelions protruded from the uncut grass, growing in abundance as they filled part of the blurring scenery as Kennedy rode down another hill. She then came to lots of small uphills and downhills, seeming almost specifically made for a biking trail. And then she saw the big hill. She hadn't gone past that hill, as the Uppertale Trail was just a few minutes away on the other side. But the hill was huge! It seemed as though cars that went up it would stop and fall backwards at any second. At the moment, though, there were no cars on the road. Kennedy built up speed, moving into the road so she wouldn't get caught in a branch or crack in the concrete. She peddled more to gain momentum, flying down the smooth road, starting to go up the hill. She peddled faster, coming to the middle of the hill. She peddled harder; if she stopped now, her whole bike would start going backwards. She could just get up and walk... 'No! This is my first time goin' up this monster hill! Just this once, I'll make my way up like this!' Kennedy thought, peddling faster.

Determination set in, and she grunted as she finally neared the peak of the hill. She made it to the top, which was a short plain of straight ground, letting Kennedy catch a glimpse of the downhill. "Holy cow!" She exclaimed as her bike went forward, tipping onto the steep downhill. She yelled, something between joy and fear, as the hill rushed her down the plain of smooth road. From the hill, she caught a glimpse of a large lake and more trees, but was more focused on the road in front of her. As she reached more level ground again, she could still feel the breeze on her face and the rush of adrenaline in her veins. As she began to calm down, she took a minute to observe the scenery. Large, untamed willow trees made graceful arches over the road, letting only small glimpses of light through their branches. "Wooahh." Kennedy commented, dazed by the beautiful sight. The road was covered in leaves and small twigs, looking as though no one had drove on it for a long time. A few hanging willow branches caved into the road, and would definitely smack cars on their way past if one drove by. At the end of the entrancing tunnel of willow trees and flowers, a ray of light seemed to shine out on the unfinished road. The road ahead turned to dirt, no longer smooth black pavement, and Kennedy rode down it like any other street. And in front of her...wow. The Overtale Trail. 

The spiral started just a few yards away, the twisting dirt and grass path bleeding into the road. Kennedy stopped her bike, breath taken by the amazing sight in front of her. It was so much bigger than she had imagined, long blades of grass and different flowers surrounding the swirling dirt trial into the air. Kennedy could just barely see the large boulder at the top from where she stood, and felt motivated to get to the top. With a kick of her kickstand, her bike was left at the foot of the trail, as she started up the long journey. How long would it take? Maybe a few hours! "Good thing I brought lots o' snacks!" She said to herself, walking up the spiraling path. The path was wide, but not wide enough that she'd dare ride a bike on it. The edges looked crumbly, as though they'd break the second she'd try to stand on them. She stayed close to the wall of rock and dirt, observing some of the moss and beautiful flowers growing on the small mountain. 

As she trailed further up the pathway, crunching grass, rich soil, and a few rocks under her feet, she could start to see over the trees. This motivated her to keep climbing, and she looked outwards instead of at the path. She pulled out a few granola bars and Capri Suns On the way up, only then realizing that the trial had gotten thinner on her way up. she ate as she walked, more conscious now of her footing father than the view. 'What would happen if I fell?' She thought. She slowly looked down over the ledge. From her side, the opposite of the one she came from, she saw a large opening into a hole in the ground below, with big rocks surrounding a valley, almost like she was at the top of a canyon. Stepping away, she continued up the trail.

End of chapter 1! :-)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a crumy chapter. It starts getting more interesting around the third, I swear! Hopefully you enjoyed anyway! I'll be uploading the next few chapters soon!


	2. Under the Uppertale Trail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! Here you go! Hope you like it!

By the time Kennedy made it up the trail, she was pretty worn out. She was also surprised at how small the trail got. By now, she was practically hanging onto the wall of the mountain to keep herself away from the edge. Her walking space had been reduced to a mere foot, and she was overly cautious of the edges. Finally, there was no more wall to hang onto. She quickly skipped the last part of the trail, jumping onto the top of the mountain in joy. She panted as she flung her pack onto the grass-covered ground, looking at the huge boulder resting in the right side of the flat area. The top of Uppertale Trail was no bigger than an 8'x9' child's bedroom floor, smooth and level like hardwood, save for the patches of grass and posies. She leaned her back against the uneven boulder, catching her breath as she smiled to herself. "I made it...I made it to th' top of Uppertale!" She said loudly, proud of her achievement. She was staring up at the sky as she spoke, wondering how big a mountain would have to be to touch the clouds as she caught her breath. 

And then she looked out over the trees, to the view she had on the very top of the trail. "Mingia muerta." She muttered. The scene was astonishing! A huge, sea blue lake surrounded islands covered in trees, stretching as far as the eye could see. Was that actually the ocean? No, it looked to clean and fish-free. If Kennedy looked close enough...oh, there was an end to it. A large patch of land starting another island, which had a few houses near the shore, and ramps tying small boats down to prevent them from floating away. A large, white boat tugged gently along the lake a few miles away. Kennedy, being more towards the city most of her life, had never seen such a beautiful sight. She wished her parents were here to see it...to see the amazing sight that nearly stole her breath for the third time that day. Her mind was blank, filled with awe as she looked out on the, presumably, miracle of nature. As her mind slowly came back to her, she quickly reached for her bag, pulling herself away from the view for only a moment. Digging her camera out of her bag, (which was a pocket-sized white digital camera), She hurried back to her place beside the boulder. Aiming the camera, she waited for the lens to focus before snapping a few pictures of the scenery. 

After a few minutes of staring at the lake, she stuffed the camera in one of the many pockets of her pants, and grabbed her pack. She decided she'd eat something while sitting on the top of the boulder, (since she drank everything she had on the way up). Circling the boulder (cautiously) to find a starting place to rest her foot, she began to climb, grabbing onto any place she could. Nearly slipping, she let out a short 'woah!' and corrected her footing. She made it up to the top sooner than she thought she would, a few small pieces of rock crumbling off as she clambered onto the small space at the top, just big enough for her to sit.

"Phew!" She said, sitting down on the top of the giant rock and looking out at the view once more, from a slightly higher angle. Unzipping her pack once again, she pulled out a stick she found on the trail. Sticking it roughly into a small crater in the top of the boulder beside her, she filled the rest of the hole with soil to keep the stick up. She then tied her bandanna to it, letting it wave slightly, like a flag. She smiled a wide smile, looking out over the trees and lake once more. She felt...complete. Accomplished. She thought about how proud her mother would be when she told her about her journey, and showed her the pictures she took. After a while of feeling the breeze on her skin and admiring the view, she decided it was time to climb back down (after eating a candy bar she brought for a reward when she had reached the top). One step at a time, she tried to climb down the boulder, forgetting to check just which side she was actually climbing down from. And then, in an instant, her foot slipped from her spot on the rock. 

Time seemed to slow down, and her first instinct was to reach out and catch herself. But her hand flung out to a plain part of the rock, and she fell from the boulder. She was on the right side, where very little ground could catch her, and she fell right past it. Screaming, her arms flung out for something to grab. She past the spiraling trail, falling at a quick speed until she was finally caught by the widest of the layers on the trails, the last one. Out of instinct, she looked down. Below her was the looming canyon valley she had seen earlier. Eyes widening further as she heard the patch of ground begin to crumble, she turned back to the trail and scrambled to get back up onto stable ground. Unfortunately, the small chunk of land broke off just as she had gotten her upper body to higher ground, and she fell with it as it broke into pieces around her. 

She nearly screamed again, but her voice caught in her throat, and she tried desperately to climb back up, or at least stop her fall, on the soil beneath the trail. Rocks from the dirt scratched the tips of her fingers and under her nails, scraping soil on the arms of her jacket as her fall down the mountain continued. She suddenly reached smooth rock, no longer grabbable as it made a sharp turn outwards, forcing her off the rock entirely as she fell past it. A short series of 'no's escaped her mouth as she slid off the rock, no longer grabbing onto anything and slowly beginning to fall flat instead of upright. And then, the hit came. She felt a sharp pain in her head, and the blunt hit of the rest of her body falling on the cold, rocky, dry dirt ground. Her eyes closed, and she felt the wind get knocked out of her, pressure and pain in her chest and neck. She took a minute to simply focus on not panicking, and trying to breath again, getting short breaths out before finally able to breathe normally (with the exception of the throbbing pain in her ribs). She opened her eyes, only to get specks of dirt in them from the soil on her face.

She sat up, carefully, feeling sharp pain everywhere, especially in her head. Luckily, one of her arms came to rest on her stomach when she fell, and was therefore unharmed. Kennedy coughed out of pain as she sat up, still feeling harsh and sore in her chest. She rubbed her face off with her good arm, smudging dirt on it, but helping her eyes at the very least. It hurt to do so, but she opened her eyes, the dirt aggravating them. She tried to stand, and leaned against the cold rock wall she fell by, followed by an 'omph' as her head made her feel dizzy and pained. Weren't you supposed to black out in situations like this? Oh, how Kennedy wish she had gone unconscious, as the pain she was in was unlike anything she had ever felt. 

She tried to steady her legs, which where shaking and loosing feeling. She forced herself off the rock wall she feel from, stumbling and wobbling around as she tried to get a clear view of her surroundings. She couldn't see through the tears in her stinging eyes, and everything look blurred. A wave of sleep hit her, but she stomped her leg, shooting a sharp pain up her muscle to keep her awake, fearing for her life. There could be anything down here! Mountain lions, cannibals, or other things that could kill her. She was suddenly very glad she had not passed out, the worst situations coming to mind as she stumbled over to a moss and vine covered rock, huge and slick, just like the other. She used it to balance, as her right leg was more injured than her left, blowing her two beaded braids away from her face in an attempt to see the blurry images better. 

A shock a surprise ran through her as her hand no longer touched rock, forcing her to stumble past the vines into a small cave opening. She heard running water, but everything was darker, and that made it even harder to see where she was going. She dropped to her knees in front of what looked like a river. She dipped her hand into the water, bringing it close to her face to make sure it was clean before rubbing it over her eyelids. She scooped water onto her face, cleaning it of most of the dirt and washing the soil from her eyes. Some of the water spilled onto the front of her jacket, but that wasn't her concern at the moment. After her eyes focused, she turned her head and looked around the cave. The whole rock was hollow, ledges and piles of rocks in different places. A small waterfall fell from the left side, and what Kennedy had been washing her face in was a stream of clean, cold water coming from said waterfall. Little streams of light came through cracks in the roof of the cave and the vines behind her, lighting up her surroundings just enough to make them decently visible. It was a strangely enchanting sight, and Kennedy took a moment to just stare. Soon, the better side of her mind kicked in and she washed off the dirt from her clothes, leaving a few wet spots on her legs and arms. She found her camera in her pocket had a small crack on the lens, most likely from a falling rock, and a small dent in the metal on the front.

She remembered her bag was still on her back, and carefully pulled it off, checking the inside. Her snacks had been squished flat, and her switchblade had been moved to the very bottom if her bag, beneath her bandannas. She took out the switchblade, only a handle at the moment, feeling safer with it on hand. She steadily stood back up, feeling a twinge of pain in the back of her ankle as her sneaker rubbed against it. Almost as soon as she reached the mouth of the cave, moving through the vines, the water glowed with a tinged blue color. The glow was led from the waterfall and into the stream, cleaning it of the dirt that Kennedy had left behind. And in an instant, the blue glow was gone, with Kennedy herself never seeing even a glimpse of it as she walked back out into the sunlight. 

Now able to see clearly, she looked around the place she fell, huge rocks surrounding most of it like walls. It was a huge, roughly shaped circle, with only one of the giant rock walls having crevices and edges to it. She could climb it, with a few tries, but it was on the wrong side of the plain. To get back up to the Uppertale Trail, she'd have to find some way up a smooth rock wall, that only had a few smooth curves outwards, and that was further up. "Ain't no way I'm gettin' up that." She muttered. Looking around once more, she saw a section of this 'circle' was not closed off. Walking over to the opening (trying not to limp), she saw it was about as wide as a double-door frame, if not crudely shaped like one. Through it was just another dirt path, with a few little weeds growing around it. The path turned up ahead, the rocks getting more jagged around the turn, and Kennedy couldn't see past it. 

She walked back to where she fell, noticing a small amount of blood on the dirt, and on part of the rock wall that led into the ground. She felt the back of her head at the sight, running her hand lightly over a large bump that was bound to become a sensitive bruise. She pulled her hand away, seeing no blood, but noticing some small cuts on her thumbs and palms. She looked upwards, barely able to see the boulder at the top of the hill, which looked more like a dot. How far had she fell? Gazing up at the trail longingly, she thought about her parents at home, and how she would ever get back to them. Would she be stuck in this circle of dirt and weeds? Having watched too many survival shows on television, she at least knew how she would survive if she was to stay here until help arrives. Find something edible, and dress any wounds that needed to be taken care of with the extra bandanas in her pack. She had her switchblade, which would be useful for cutting the bandanna to a proper length or cutting open shells and plants for food. 

Kennedy's mind switched into more of a 'survival mode', mentally locating her means for fresh water, food, and defense. "Ma and Pop'll come lookin' for me soon 'nough. Just gotta hang on 'till then. Prob'ly won't even take long...I should just wait 'ere so I can see 'em when they call for me up the trail." Kennedy assured herself.

End of Chapter 2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, seriously, who saw this coming? X-P  
> Kennedy's real adventure begins, quite literally with a 'bang'.


	3. Glowing Blue

Kennedy had been sitting in the center of the large dirt clearing, to get a decent view of the trail. 'They'll get 'ere soon. Before dark, at least.' Kennedy thought, noticing that the sun was starting to go down. It wasn't quite sunset, but getting close. She fiddled with her switchblade, feeling over the scratch in the wood handle and flipping the knife in and out. Then she heard something. "Are you new?" A cheery male voice rang out behind her. Startled, Kennedy quickly spun around, only to see a yellow flower about a foot away. And the flower...had a face? A real face? Kennedy stayed completely still for a moment, unsure of how to react. Was that face actually real? Had someone drawn it on? It looked very real. When did this strange flower get here? The dirt was clear before. 

"Howdy!" The flower said, matching the voice Kennedy heard a couple seconds ago. "AHH!" Kennedy yelled, quickly scurrying away by crawling backwards, then scrambling to her feet, knife aimed at the talking flower. "Woah, hang on a minute!" The flower said, stem twisting slightly. Kennedy's eyes widened further, and she swung her blade out of shock and fear. Supernaturally, the flower moved it's stem to dodge, ducking under the swinging knife. "Calm down!" The flower demanded, but Kennedy swung the switchblade again, and a few more times after that, causing the flower to continue dodging. "Alright, stop it!" The flower boomed, a green root shooting out of the ground and knocking the blade painfully from Kennedy's hand. She grabbed her stinging hand, eyes still wide in fear as she backed up even more.

"Now, who's fault do you think that was?" The flower said, rolling his (his?) eyes at Kennedy's reaction. "Wha-..." Kennedy didn't finish her sentence, stunned into silence. The flower seemed harmless enough as it was, but seeing how it just tossed her knife across the clearing, it was obviously a threat. As if on cue, (even though he was going to anyway), the flower sighed in annoyance and stretched a root over to the switchblade, now lying against the rock wall with all of the vines. He brought the root over to the shaking girl, and dropped the blade at her feet. Retracting the root back into the ground, he made an unamused face at Kennedy. He waited a moment for her to react, as she seemed to be in shock or something. Just when Flowey was about to speak again, he was greeted with a fast Brooklyn accent. 

"Y-you're a tahkin' flow'r!" The girl said, in a hurried manner, as if it was hard to get the words out in the first place. "Yes...I'm Flowey." The flower replied, amusement playing his features at the girl's reaction. It was certainly different than the one he normally got. Kennedy nearly jumped as the flower spoke again, introducing himself as 'Flowey'. Kennedy was silent, still stunned that the flower could speak at all. It rolled it's eyes again. "You know, I heard you're supposed to introduce yourself after someone tells you their name. Manners are all the rage these days!" Flowey said in a mock polite tone. Kennedy knew she would be offended by the comment in any other circumstance, but was too afraid and shocked to even consider talking back at the moment. 

"....K-Kennedy..." She answered, barely able to choke the name out. Flowey smiled, somewhere between evil and friendly, at Kennedy's answer. "Great! Kennedy! What a name! An existing name!" Flowey answered. Kennedy felt confused. "E..existin' name?" Kennedy repeated. Flowey smiled again, less wide now, to something that looked a bit more natural. It still scared Kennedy, seeing a flower having emotions. His eye-ridges (he had no hair for eyebrows) dropped, eyes lowering as he smiled, almost like a movie villain. "Most people that fall down here don't have names. But you do, which is why I don't need to keep up my happy facade with you." Flowey replied, facial expression not changing. 

Kennedy raised an eyebrow, still afraid of the flower and keeping her distance, but confused. "Don't h-have names?" She asked. Flowey paused, thinking over what he said before continuing. "Well, I guess the right word is 'person', isn't it? Only one person falls down here...but they usually start further along." He explained, keeping his explanation vague. His words didn't help Kennedy's confusion. 'How could one person fall down 'ere enough for it to be 'usually'?' She thought, but the thought only lasted a few seconds. "There's no big reason to talk like you're afraid of me, you know. You fell from the trail, didn't you?" Flowey said, his stem moving him into something like a bend backwards, 'head' now upside down as he spoke. Kennedy felt a small amount of relief, a glimmer of hope arising in her situation. Did this flower now the way out? "Yeah." Kennedy answered honestly, feeling the tremble in her voice die down. "Oh, wow. I'm surprised you aren't dead...is there a reason why you're still alive?" Flowey asked. 

"W-what'dya mean?"

"I mean, do you have some useful ability?"

"Useful ability?"

"Yes, yes! Something to keep you from dying!"

"I-I'm tough, I guess..."

The flower groaned in aggravation at Kennedy's answer.

"Look, 'Kennedy', there must be a reason you aren't deathly injured...I bet you don't even have a broken bone."

"Well...I kinda' feel like I do, but, I don' know."

".....No one is coming to get you, are they?"

Kennedy jolted at the flower's sudden change in subject. Her eyebrows lowered. "O' course they are! They'll be 'ere soon, anyway!" Kennedy countered, watching as the flower moved upright again. "Who? Your parents?" Flowey asked, voice sarcastic and unbelieving. "Well, ya. Who else would?" Kennedy answered, as if it were obvious. "And what if they don't come for you?" Flowey asked, a vile and almost taunting tone to his voice. "Why wouldn't they? I'm always back before dark, they'll know somethin's up." Kennedy felt the flower's vibe change, but couldn't place the feeling she got from him now. 

"Oh, Kennedy. Once you get stuck down here, no one comes for you! Not unless you make it out yourself." Flowey said, smile growing viciously. Horrified, Kennedy's eyes widened again, backing up even more. The flower's eyes were black, pupils now white and standing out. His smile curved and dipped villainously, looking to close to teared paper for Kennedy's liking. "So, Kennedy, what will you do? Go ahead? Stay here? Or make it out on your own?" Flowey asked, voice going a bit deeper, seeming to echo slightly. Stunned once again, it took a moment for Kennedy to get her words out. "S-stay 'ere, of course..." She answered, voice quieter now. "Why? Why would you stay here if no one will come for you? Didn't I explain it? You need to get out on your own!" Flowey's voice had a sharp edge to it. 

Kennedy's eyebrows furrowed in anger. "N-no! I don' care what you say! I got people who care about me, who are waitin' for me ta' get home! There's no reason for 'em to just give up an' leave me here!" She reasoned, raising her voice in an attempt to get her message through. The flower was now getting aggravating, and was much, much shorter than she was. To put it simply, Kennedy didn't feel too threatened any more. "But they'll never know! That's what happens when you fall down here, Kennedy. You're erased from EXISTENCE." Flowey's face went even more menacing at the last few words, voice following suit. "...Th-that's bull. You're makin' things up!" Kennedy accused. "Am I? In a world where flowers can talk and magic exists?" The flower countered, voice returning to normal state, eyes fading back to normal, and a short, amused smile on his face. 

Kennedy paused. She was silent, unable to think of a comeback. 'He might actually be tellin' the truth...' She thought, '...or tryin' to trick me inta' goin' the opposite way.' She narrowed her eyes at Flowey. "I'm not trustin' ya. Scram, I don' need help from morbid tahkin' flowers." She said. Flowey's smile dissolved into a frown. "You know...I thought you would be more interesting." The flower said. In an instant, thick weeds sprung from the ground, twisting and cracking roots, lifting Flowey into the air. He was now taller than Kennedy, weeds and roots cracking and bending to fit his desires. One single, thick line of root and weed was holding him in the up, as the others coiled around him and shaped themselves into what almost looked like big, long arms. Long, leafy blades branched off of what looked to be shoulders, and a wide grin played the flower's face. 

Kennedy's eyes widened, looking up at the monster, first instinct being to defend herself from it. Forcing herself to move, she scooped up her switchblade from the ground. She held it up with one hand, shaking as she did, bringing that side of her body a little more forward. Flowey laughed a shattering laugh, sounding demonic and echoing. He flung a single white bullet at Kennedy, it moving faster when on it's own. It hit Kennedy's cheek, even in her effort to dodge, and she let out a small cry of pain. However, the bullet didn't sink into her skin, as a bullet would. It instead turned to some sort of dust or powder, falling off her cheek and to the floor. 

It still hurt Kennedy, as the feeling of getting shot still lingered in her cheekbone. Accompanied with her other injures, this wasn't helping her situation. From that one hit, every other wound felt amplified, even the small cuts on her hands and the scrape on her jaw she got when a falling rock hit her on her way down. She held up her switchblade again, now even more conscious of the scrapes on her palm and fingers. She felt suddenly determined, as the flower intimidated her enough to want to fight for her life, if it came down to it. Flowey observed this, creating another bullet as he began to notice something...strange about Kennedy. Said girl put her right foot out once more, holding a stance that would be a little easier to dodge in. 

Still shaking, she raised her chin and spoke loud, as if Flowey couldn't hear her from his height. "B-back off, flow'r..." She said, still holding her switchblade up, which paled in comparison to Flowey's bullets. Flowey's eyes widened slightly as he saw Kennedy's wounds begin to glow a faint blue, and her eyes slowly changing color. Her eyes...where had he seen that color before? Ah, yes, in a certain skeleton. Did she have the same power he did? She would have used it by now, would she not? As the blue in Kennedy's eyes began to reach the center of her iris, Flowey let silence fall between them. 'Her eyes glow blue, just like that troublesome skeleton. However...her eyes are darker, a bit more vivid, like it glows for a different reason. It's obviously magic...but why would it travel through her wounds as well?' Flowey thought. He then smiled, realizing he was entertained by this. 

Something brand new down in Undertale? If he played his cards right, he could use this girl to his advantage. He let out a short chuckle, holding up his makeshift arms in mock surrender. "Ok, ok. That was rude of me." He said in a somewhat sarcastic tone, burrowing the roots and weeds back underneath the ground, bringing him back down as well. Kennedy's face reflected a mix of confusion, fear, and relief, looking down at the flower that now appeared harmless. "It's kill or be killed down here, Kennedy. You're lucky I'm generous." The flower said, smile playing at his lips and stem leaning backwards, as if he were slouching. "Wh-wha..." Kennedy said quietly, lowering her weapon slightly. Her eyes slowly returned to their normal brown, even though Kennedy hadn't known it happened at all. "You know, Kennedy, I think you'll be here for a while...let's make the most of your timeline. I can't have you leaving too soon, can I?" Flowey said, smiling up at the girl a few feet in front of him. Kennedy narrowed her eyes. "What'dya mean...'my timeline'? 'Make the most of it'? I'm gettin' out if here soon 'nough, and then I'll be callin' in some weed-wackers." She said, out of pride, even though she knew what Flowey was capable of. 

"Hehehahaha....we'll see about that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a little while to post! Hope you enjoyed, anyways! :-P


	4. Nonexisistant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kennedy has been in that clearing for almost a year now; sorry for the large time skip, but it was necessary to get this story on the track I'd like it to be on. Consider the last chapters the follow up to the real story, kind of like a long prologue. (Although obviously, those were just as important to read). Thank you for reading, and please comment or leave kudos to let me know what you think! :-)

Kennedy was looking out over the beautiful lake once more, the boat still peacefully chugging along the crystal blue liquid. She was sitting on top of the boulder, bandanna flag waving pleasantly beside her. Then, with no warning, she heard a loud snap. Her flag's stick pole had been broken, by nothing at all, bandanna now lying lifelessly against the rock. Kennedy gave a confused look, finding it strange, as the breeze was no where near strong enough to break the flag. But then, the trees out on the lake began to suddenly fall over, row by row, and the lake turned a sick, brown color. The strange loom of contamination was spreading fast, beginning to knock over the trees under the trail. 

Kennedy gasped, backing up slightly. Then the rock crumbled away, and she fell down into the canyon bellow, not able to see the ground, as she fell backwards. She tried to yell, but no sound came out, as she continued falling to her doom. There was nothing to grab onto, and she fell into darkness, eventually hitting jagged, hard rocks. Blood poured from her mouth, and she felt paralyzed. Then, the boulder that she thought had crumbled to pieces a minute ago was back, and Kennedy saw it slowly, very slowly, roll off the edge of the top of Uppertale. Her eyes widened, boulder falling her way fast. She tried to move, tried to scream, but nothing would work, and the boulder soon took up all of her vision, falling at an alarming rate down the opening to the canyon. Kennedy's eyes pricked with tears, and she could only get a short, strangled sound out of her busted lungs as the boulder came down on her, crushing her instantly.

"AHHHH!" Kennedy jolted up from her grassy patch on the ground, flinging off her jacket, that she had been using for a blanket. She panted, heart rate beginning to slow down as she realized the horror was just a nightmare, cold sweat running down her neck and forehead. She took a minute to try calming her breathing, noticing a small glow of blue on her clothes. Where the source of light was, she wasn't too sure. Flowey had told her in the past that something was wrong with her eyes, but she doubted he'd tell her the truth any time soon. In the past.... Kennedy looked around her small camp site under the Cashew tree, noticing that it was still dark out. She looked up at the moon, frowning sadly as her past came back to her, forced into her mind by her nightmare. 

In the past, Kennedy had hope that her parents would come for her. She remembered how set she was on waiting there for them, even when Flowey tried to discourage her. But now...Kennedy wasn't too sure he was lying. It had been almost a full year, and she hadn't seen a single trace of her parents. Like they just...forgot. Or maybe she missed them...maybe they came to look for her when she was asleep, or fighting with that cursed flower. Flowey had challenged her to fights ever since the first day, and continued to do so at least once every three days. It was pretty annoying, but she had to admit, it did make her stronger. 

Where she was now was thanks to Flowey as well, as he was the one who told her she needed to climb the rock wall if she wanted to survive. The only climbable rock wall...on the opposite side of where she really wanted to go. If she looked to her right, she would see the Uppertale Trail, and part of the road leading to it. She could also still see her bandanna...waving ever so slightly in the cold breeze. A year. A year, now, and no one came. Unless they came while she was distracted, and if that was the case, all the worse. She had missed her opportunity to leave. Kennedy rubbed most the sweat on her forehead off, looking at the tattered, over-sized clothing. She had found this oversized...dress, or tunic, or whatever it was, one day when she was trying to explore a bit. 

To cautious to wander far from the clearing, she had only gone halfway down the dirt trail leading out of the giant circle, finding an old box covered in weeds. Upon opening the box, she found lots of over-sized purple tunics with strange symbols on them, torn or ripped to the point of no repair. Cutting the ends down to size, she couldn't do much to the white arms of the tunic, fearing she'd ruin them further. So the sleeves stayed long or rolled up, and she wore the tunic when she had to wash her other clothes in the stream. She had only taken one of the identical tunics, not having the heart to take any more, as she didn't know why the box was there. Kennedy sighed, pulling up her long white sleeves as she stood. 

The place she was now...well, at least she didn't have much to complain about. Cashew and almond trees grew on top of the giant rock wall, as she found out the rock turned to rich soil the further she climbed. Uncut grass grew everywhere, followed by flowers and weeds, twisting through the maze of nut trees. The trees were a bit spread out, and were not quite a forest, as it was easier for Kennedy to find her way back to the start. She had found a few fruit trees a while ago, and had enjoyed a few (slightly too ripe) apples and bananas. There were other fruit and nut trees that she wasn't too sure of, having never seen the food they produced before. They were strange colors and had strange flavors, their names a mystery to Kennedy. 

"Speakin' of miracles...I'll never understand why these trees keep growin' all year round." Kennedy muttered to herself, lightly tapping the cashew tree that held her bag beneath it. On the tree's trunk were tally marks, counting off how many days she'd been in, what Flowey calls, Undertale. She figured Flowey called it Undertale because it was beneath the Overtale Trail, maybe even to mess with her. 'He could be lyin' to me all the time, for all I know...that's why it's best ta' just ignore 'im.' Kennedy thought. The rips in her tunic sent a few shivers down her skin as a breeze hit her, blowing her unmanaged hair backwards slightly. She looked at the tallies on the cashew tree, thinking of how wasted the past year of her life had been. She had gotten very skinny, almost unhealthily skinny, from just eating nuts she had carved the shells off of or fruits she was lucky to find.

Small scars appeared on her body all the time, from climbing or fighting with Flowey. Flowey....that da**ed flower! He fought her and taunted her, sometimes even picking her up by his roots and flinging her back towards her camp, on the top of the giant heap of rock and dirt she now called home. She had to climb upwards to get there most of the time, and it was like figuring out the pattern to a rock wall at first. But she gradually got used to it, and knew her way up and down by heart, much to Flowey's liking. Flowey claimed it had been his plan to get Kennedy stronger, and that he would continue fighting her until she was ready to accept the 'kill or be killed' way of Undertale. Kennedy never stood for it, refusing to go out and kill creatures like the menacing yellow flower. 

'They're just as bad as me, Kennedy! Even if you don't see it! They are! Help me out, and lets get rid of them! Give them a REAL show!' Is what Flowey had said the first time he proposed the idea if teaming up. Out if pride, Kennedy rudely declined, and continued fighting Flowey. She would emerge from each fight with new bruises, cuts, and scrapes, and watch the scrabbly little flower claim that they glowed in certain situations. While it's true that Kennedy healed a little faster than she normally had, she never bought the idea that some glowing blue magic was healing her. She thought she caught glimpses of it from time to time, seeing little instances of shining blue light on her cuts, or reflecting on things she looked at. 

She figured she was just going crazy, or that her eyes were playing tricks on her; or even more plausible, that Flowey was playing tricks on her. That was the most likely, to Kennedy. She started to walk over to a ledge in the ground, to start climbing down the wall. She still felt tired, but restless at the same time, frightened by her nightmare. Her heart beat faster when she thought about it, as she climbed down onto the rock beneath the thick layer of soil on top of it. She locked her foot into place on each little jagged piece of rock and curve, turning around carefully half way down. As she turned outwards, she saw the cold walls of rock around her. Nothing new. 

Stepping to the side, Kennedy slid down one of the few slick spots of this particular rock wall, then jumped the last twenty feet, landing on the dirt ground with practiced ease. She walked over to the rock wall with vines hanging over it, stepping inside the hidden cave. Stepping over to the stream, she took a coconut shell (or some shell that looked like one, but was obviously not coconut) that she had scraped out a few months ago. She scooped water into the large half-shell, bringing it to her mouth and drinking the cold liquid. Feeling a little better, she set the shell in it's usual spot beside the stream, and went over to the container she made out of heavy planks of long, slick rock. The cracks had been covered with paste she made from tree sap, flower petals, and leaves, along with some nut shells.

One of the container's walls was the wall of the cave itself, allowing Kennedy do a little less work on creating it. It was roughly the size of a tub, in which Kennedy both bathed and washed her clothes in. Forcing one of the smaller rocks loose, she let the old water spill out of the handmade tub, flowing more towards the right side of the cave. Plugging the rock roughly back into place, she went to check on the clothes she had washed in the makeshift tub the night before and set out to dry. They were lying flat on a big rock outside, and should have dried during yesterday's afternoon. But who else would be there to greet her when she walked back outside than a certain yellow flower? "So...nightmares?" Flowey asked, smiling tauntingly. Kennedy said nothing. 

Over the months, yellow had definitely become the color she despised. "How many tallies are on that tree, Kennedy? Hahaha. How many?" Flowey continued, causing Kennedy to pause her walking. "What?" Kennedy asked. "Oh, I know you count the days. So how many, Kennedy? How many days?" Flowey repeated his question. Kennedy turned around, yawning a bit, as she still felt tired. "Fine. Ya' got me. It's been...ah...three hundred an' seventy eight..." Kennedy answered, really not in the mood to talk to the demonic flower. "HAHAHA! You see! And you still have hope?!" Flowey said, laughing loudly and smiling an evil smile. Kennedy just began to rub her eyes, trying to decide whether she should go back to sleep or not. 

"You're so foolish! I know you want to leave this place! The only way to get out is if you FIGHT YOUR WAY OUT!" Flowey explained, voice echoing. Kennedy paused her hand, which was currently rubbing one of her eyes. Unmoving, Kennedy looked down at Flowey. An ominous aura came from her, that actually sent a shiver through Flowey. His smile fell, replaced with uncertainty at Kennedy's facial expression. He saw her eyes slowly turn blue, which surprised him, as she hadn't moved or spoken, let alone attacked. With one hand still on her other eye, she began to speak. "I'm tired of your bullcrap, morbid tahkin' flower." Kennedy said, eyes aglow and tone cold. Flowey, for the first time, felt a bit intimidated by Kennedy, and shocked at her action. 

She hadn't called him that ever since the first day she fell into Undertale. Furthermore, she seemed so...cold when she said it, as if she genuinely hated him. Not that Flowey would be surprised if she did, but that...that face was like something Chara would pull. Kennedy turned away, continuing to rub her eye for another few seconds, then ceasing the action. Her eyes slowly faded back to brown, unknown to her, as she looked over the tank top and green pants lying on a big rock beside one of the slick rock walls. Flowey stayed silent for a moment, trying to figure out exactly how Kennedy had done that, and how he should react. "Hahaha...looks like someone's not getting enough sleep." He commented, which Kennedy ignored, scooping up her clothes and heading for the climbable wall that led to 'home'...


	5. Options

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't have to do a summary for every chapter, right..?...  
> Lol! I probably won't do tons of chapter summaries, though I'll probably leave notes on all of them. Thanks again for reading my Undertale book! :-)

After getting a few more hours of sleep, Kennedy got dressed in her normal outfit (minus the jacket), smoothing out the wrinkles as she went to get some breakfast. Her backpack had been emptied in order to fill it with food, but her switchblade stayed in one of the many pockets on her pants. She walked through the trees, past the nuts and to the fruit. She plucked a strange, purple and orange fruit that resembled a pear off of a low hanging branch. These fruits, which Kennedy elected to just call pears, were the only ones that took less than a day to ripen. They stayed good for about two weeks, then they went bad and fell from the tree. After all the spoiled fruit was gone from the stems, little purple buds would grow for nearly a month, slowly turning into something edible. 

She took a bite of the fruit, which had no seed in it (Kennedy was unsure how there was even a tree growing if the fruit didn't have seeds). The taste was slightly sour, but that was how it normally tasted when it was good to eat, with some sweetness to it. Almost as though someone had thrown sugar on a grapefruit. She had adapted a taste for the 'pear' over the months, and now looked forward to it growing. She opened her pack, picking the good fruits off the branches, avoiding the ones that weren't fully colored. If they were too ripe, they were green, just like any other fruit. So why did it grow and look so different? Kennedy had no clue, and wasn't keen on asking Flowey about it, so the fruits remained a mystery. 

She now had a day's worth of fruit in her pack, which was about five or six, the rest still hanging on the tree. She smiled, throwing her pack back on and continuing to eat the 'pear' in her hand. Then something strange happened. Something that had never happened before. Flowey appeared in front of her, vines springing out of the ground already, creating the monster of tangled weeds he would turn into in their fights. Kennedy nearly choked on her fruit, eyes widening out of surprise. "Kennedy! I'm sick and tired of this!" Flowey announced, voice echoing and face contorted into a snarl. Kennedy swallowed the piece of fruit she had been chewing, raising an eyebrow at Flowey as her surprise died down. 

"What'dya mean? An' how'd you get up 'ere?" She asked. Flowey had never came to visit her on the top of the rock wall, much less so close to her camp. She had assumed Flowey just couldn't travel that far. She'd seen him burrow under the ground and follow her, but that was only in the clearing. Of course, Flowey would either wait for her to come down for water or grow himself high enough to see Kennedy beside the rock, and talk to her that way. This was new. Flowey growled in aggravation. "You have to be kidding me! You've stayed here for nearly a year! Twelve months, Kennedy! Twelve months I've tried to be on your side!" He yelled. Kennedy blinked. She then narrowed her eyes. 

"And what's the problem? I've been fightin' ya like you wanted. I thought you just wanted ta' make my life a livin' hell." She countered, glaring accusingly at Flowey. The towering flower screamed in anger, and one of the tangled mess of roots that served as an arm swung out at Kennedy. Dropping what was left of her fruit, she dodged under the flower's attack, then moved quickly, backing up into a battle stance and getting ready for an attack. "Grrr...you are so aggravating! I bet you have haven't even leveled up at all! GO KILL SOMETHING!" Flowey yelled. Kennedy looked confused. "Level?" She inquired, but backed up as she did, just barely dodging Flowey's makeshift arm. Flowey then paused, bringing his arm back to him. "You...can't see your LV?" He asked. "What the heck are you tahkin' 'bout?" Kennedy asked. She had asked herself in the past if the flower might be crazy due to certain things he said, but this sure took the cake. Flowey went straight-faced for a few seconds, then snarled again. "Your options are 'mercy' and 'fight', aren't they?!" He yelled. 

"You ain't makin' any sense."

"No-No, your two options! There should be 'act' and your items too! But you only have the option to spare or to fight me!"

"Listen', I don' know what kinda' crazy's been goin' through your head, but I got way more than two options here."

"I mean the buttons! The battle panel!"

"The what?"

"GGGGRRRRRAAAAAA!"

Flowey screamed in aggravation again, flinging his arms around in anger at Kennedy. Kennedy tried her best to duck and dodge, nearly falling backwards at one point, but still managed to get her arm scraped by one of the rough roots. In a slight moment of hesitation, a huge root came out of the ground, charging at her, and she didn't doge in time. The root knocked her backwards, and she landed on her back beside an almond tree. Making a few little noises of pain and grabbing the back of her head, Kennedy glared at Flowey. Her scrapes and fresher scars glowed slightly, and her eyes began to slowly change blue. Seizing his opportunity, Flowey took a few quick steps forward, sending his arm of tangled weeds and roots out to Kennedy. 

"Ag!" Kennedy made a small, struggled sound as she was lifted up by the mass of plant, hands pinned to her side uncomfortably. Flowey made a small growling noise, watching as Kennedy's eyes changed fully blue and aglow. "I once had the power of a god. The power to 'reset' everything! Along with that power, I saw what Frisk sees. What CHARA sees. The battle panel! I remember pressing the fight button! I remember the items and acts! I even remember mercy! Every single time that Frisk falls down here, they see it too! And you tell me even though you fell just like them, and even though you have a weapon, and even though you SURVIVED FOR YOUR TIMELINE, you don't have the same ABILITY?" Flowey said, watching as Kennedy struggled uselessly to get out of his grasp. She stayed silent, still trying to worm her way out of the giant makeshift hand. 

"ANSWER ME!!!" Flowey yelled, voice echoing as he shook Kennedy like a rag doll. "I-I don' know!" Kennedy yelled, and Flowey stopped shaking her. "What do you mean?!" He yelled at her, as she stopped struggling. Kennedy put on a brave face, even though she felt scared, looking into Flowey's black eyes. "I don' know about the 'battle panel' or whatever. I don' know who you're tahkin 'bout, or why you're so pent up on this, or why ya think I would even know anythin' about it! You just sound like you're tahkin crazy, ta' me." She answered, careful with the tone of her words. She felt the roots and weeds tighten around her, now painful, most likely from Flowey's aggravation. They then released her. "Woah-oof!" Kennedy fell and hit the ground, this time on her side. 

She propped herself up by her arms as she watched Flowey shrink in size, until he was only a small flower. "...I really want to kill you. I really, REALLY, want to kill you. But I also don't want to miss my opportunity." Flowey explained, frown curling back into a smile at his last sentence. Kennedy raised an eyebrow, not moving from her place on the ground, waiting for the flower to continue. "I have told you before that your eyes and injuries glow blue in battle. Take it from me, just this once, when I swear to you: I wasn't lying." He said, grinning. Kennedy heard an ounce of sincerity in his words, but felt as though he was trying to fool her. Before she could reply, Flowey continued speaking. 

"That being said, I also want you to believe me when I say I have never seen that power before...much less seen you here before. In all the resets, the saves and the loads back to the start, there was never anyone here. But now, you are. I don't know if you'll be here the next time my parter resets the timeline, so I want to make the most out of you. I want to see what you're willing to do to keep that pride of yours." Flowey's grin turned into an evil, paper-tearing smirk, eyes going dark once more. Kennedy's eyes narrowed, and she sat up more, one knee bent in case she needed to move quickly. "What'dya mean, flow'r?" She asked, cautiously, with a hint of intimidation in her voice. Flowey laughed a few deep, short chuckles. 

"I'm gonna send you on a...what do you call it? I guess you could say Hero Quest. Hahaha..." Flowey replied, voice now deep and slightly echoing. Kennedy snarled at him. "Can't ya' give it to me straight?" She asked, tone cold. Flowey smiled his 'villain' smile. "Sure, sure. You never liked riddles, did you? Hahaha. How about this: you have two options. Kill lots of people to save a few others you know, Or let the few you know die and not kill the others. Which would you choose?" Flowey explained the scenario, smiling as he did. "What? What does that have to do with anythin'?" Kennedy asked. "Just answer. I want to see if it matches the result." Flowey said, still smiling, lowering his eye ridges as he awaited Kennedy's answer. Kennedy was silent for a minute. This flower wanted a serious answer, didn't he? Kennedy sighed. "W-well...I think I wouldn't kill anyone." She answered honestly.

Flowey's smile widened, showing off sharp teeth, eyes going white. Kennedy had only ever seen him do that a few other times, usually when he was acting high and mighty. "B-but!" Kennedy continued, "That dudn't mean whoever else there would die too! I think...I could trust them not to die. Or warn them of whatever was gonna kill 'em." Flowey's grin fell, face and eyes returning to normal. He then snarled, eyes turning black. "Grr! No! No! You have two options! TWO OPTIONS!" He yelled. Even with metaphors, this girl still just HAD to find away around it! Kennedy huffed a bit. "What's with all the 'two options' bull? Ya' said it earlier too! I can think of a'least three more choices I could make out'a what you just told me!" She said, glaring at Flowey.

"Graaaa! No! There are no other options! They wouldn't work!"

"Just like how I'd have to pick either fightin' or sparin'?"

"Exactly!"

"But I could just run 'n hide."

"No! No, you can't! That's not an option!"

"What are ya tahkin' 'bout? I could always just run away. Or even negotiate, or jus' stop fightin' all together."

"No, you-..........."

Flowey paused, and silence fell between them. "...You...You have more choices....oh...Oh! Oh! You have more choices! You can do things that others can't!" He said, as if having a realization. "No, I'm pretty sure anyone can, Flow'r. You're the crazy one." Kennedy replied, but the flower just ignored her statement. "Listen, Kennedy. I still need you to go on that little 'quest' of mine...you'll be able to pick other things along the way! It'll be so great! They'll be so confused- maybe even amazed! Hahaha! It'll be something different! They won't know how to handle it!" Flowey said, smile widening as if he was planning something diabolical. "And soon...you'll see why there are only two options! HAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed loudly, voice echoing and filling Kennedy's ears. 

"L-listen, Flow'r...I ain't goin' anywhere with you. I don' know who you keep tahkin' 'bout, or why you say I got more 'options' then 'em, but I'm not gonna help you confuse anyone." Said Kennedy, feeling a sweat-drop run down the side of her forehead, standing from her place on the ground. The flower payed no mind to her change in position, smiling up at her. "Do you want to see your parents again, Kennedy?" He inquired, a mocking tone to his voice. Kennedy froze, not looking down at Flowey, her parents being a touchy subject at the moment. Flowey laughed a bit. "Do you remember what I told you? That you didn't exist the second you fell down here? They'll remember you as soon as you reach the surface...and I believe I told you how that was possible." He said. 

Kennedy looked down at him, barely moving her head; more so her eyes. "By makin' my own way out...an' not waitin' around for help." She answered. Flowey smiled. "So? Up for the challenge? Or will you just stay here, without ever putting in effort to leave?" He asked, in a slightly taunting tone. Kennedy was silent for a long time, before she answered begrudgingly. "....Fine. Where am I goin' from here?"


	6. The Journy Onwards

Kennedy was all packed, having a day's worth of food in her bag, along with her oversized tunic and extra bandannas. One bandanna, (a yellow one with black designs on it), was tied securely around her scrape from yesterday, which had started bleeding a surprising amount. Even Flowey was surprised, as he claimed her 'blue glow' usually kicked in by then. Kennedy looked out at the sun rising over the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, admittedly, and Kennedy wasn't even watching her hands as she stuffed her folded jacket into her pack. Eyes still on the fading orange and pink colors of the clouds, She zipped up her backpack, just sitting there a moment afterwards, in silence. 

She then tore herself away from the view, looking over at her 'flag' on the top of Upperale Trail once more, before turning her attention to her bag. Strapping an empty purple coconut shell to it with cut strips of a blue bandana, she made sure the shell was not damaged. It had taken a while to properly scrape out the inside, since she had only made a small hole in the top, so the the shell could serve as a container for water. She stood up, tossing the straps of her dark magenta and lime-green bag over her shoulders as she prepared to climb down the rock wall that led into the clearing. On her way down, she heard a familiar crumbling of dry dirt, signaling Flowey had burrowed his way out of the ground. Sure enough, as she slid down the slick slope on part of the rock, Flowey was looking up at her, smiling. 

Jumping the last twenty feet, as usual, she matched stares with Flowey. The flower smiled a slightly evil smile, not saying a word as Kennedy passed him, heading to the cave for water before she left on her ridiculous 'hero quest'. As she stepped into the chilled cool cave, she grabbed the purple coconut shell strapped to her bag, dipping the whole thing underwater. As it filled up through the hole in the top, Kennedy thought about how crazy her decision on taking up the flower's request was. Then again...maybe it wasn't so crazy. A year of her parents not coming for her? Maybe the flower was right. If magic did exist down in 'Undertale', then she could have very well been erased from existence, or been forgotten by everyone because their minds were erased, like in movies. 

....Or the flower could just be absolutely bonkers. Still, leaving this place on her own was her best bet now. She wasn't planning on playing by Flowey's rules, however. 'Kill or be killed'? No way. She doubted she'd find anything wanting to kill her, anyway. She had a looming feeling that beyond this clearing was just more dry dirt and canyon walls, spotted with weeds every now and then. Pulling the purple shell (now full of water) out of the stream, she thought about the box of torn and damaged tunics she had found on the path months ago. Someone must have left those, right? 'Maybe they're out there...on that trail. Or, they're dead. 'Who knows how old that purple tunic is.' She thought.

She tied the purple coconut shell back to her pack with the blue bandanna she had cut into strips the day before, in order to make it thin enough to put through the holes in the coconut. She weaved the bandana through the hole in the top for drinking, then out through a smaller, delicately etched out hole just big enough to let the bandanna out again. She tied the bandanna in a knot, watching as a bit of water spilled out of the coconut. She then put the straps of her bag back over her shoulders, standing up as she adjusted them. She pulled the vines away from the entrance, stepping back outside. The sunlight had not yet warmed her surroundings, still moving slowly from behind the clouds in the sky. 

Flowey was still in his usual spot, smiling at Kennedy from his place on the ground. Kennedy ignored him for the moment, looking over at the pathway leading out of the clearing. "How long will it take me?" Kennedy asked the flower behind her, not turning to look at him, and instead staring ahead at the opening to the trail. "To start the timeline, or get out of Undertale?" Flowey asked in a cocky tone. Kennedy closed her eyes in annoyance, almost entirely sure that the flower was crazy. "Sure, timeline, whatever. Let's go with that." She answered. Flowey laughed a little, and took a moment to think of how long Kennedy's trip would be. "A few hours, maybe? Hahaha. Having to travel before you even start your 'quest'!" He replied. 

"Yeah...quest...right." Kennedy said, distracted by her own thoughts as of what could be beyond that turn in the path. Flowey continued talking. "I'll be traveling that way, you know, to keep an eye on you. Someone like you will need a bit of help. Haha." He said. Kennedy glared at him. "I don' need you followin' me around like some stalker. You'll just make everythin' worse, ya' filthy weisenheimer." She replied rudely. She looked back over to the path, wondering if she should leave right away, paying no mind to the insult she just spat at the annoying yellow flower. "Weisenheimer? That's a new one." Flowey remarked, not at all offended by her comment. Kennedy rolled her eyes back to Flowey. "It means wise guy, smart a**." She said. 

Flowey burst into non-demonic laughter, as he did every time Kennedy let a few cuss words slip. Kennedy rolled her eyes again, this time out of pure annoyance, walking towards the trail. She heard Flowey burrow under the ground as she entered the pathway, but payed no mind as she continued forwards. She saw a few weeds and vines as she went, little flowers growing on the sides of the dirt trail. Her pace slowed for a moment, thinking over the possibility again, that this could be Flowey fooling her into something. However...what other choice did she have? Her parents hadn't come for her in a year...so she should make it out herself! She saw the old cardboard box full of tunics, marking the farthest she had ever gone from the clearing. She went past it, walking ahead, straight to the turn in the trail. 

Beyond the turn, it was only slightly different. Weeds and plants still sprouted from the sides of the path, but more vines fell from atop the walls of rock. The rocks were more jagged and creviced, appearing rather easy to climb, to someone of Kennedy's level of rock climbing. She resisted the small urge to climb them, continuing on her way. The further she went, the more variety there was in the plants she saw, ranging from what looked like poison ivy to roses. Kennedy gasped as she caught sight of a line of rose bushes, each a different color. There were blue roses, violet roses, pink roses, and of course, the natural red roses. Having been a year since she saw any others besides that no-good yellow smart aleck, she was amazed by the sight of them. 

She knelt down to observe the pink roses, and realized that they had very little to none thorns. She reached out, grabbing the first one she saw, plucking it and the stem carefully from the bush. She stood up straight, rose now in her hand, and she mentally swore to herself that it might have been the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Of course, this was only because she had spent a year with her only truly beautiful sight being the sun rising and setting. Light pink was most definitely a better contrast to the annoying, bright yellow she usually saw. She held the rose delicately, as if it would crumble in her hands at any moment. She brought it up to her nose and lightly sniffed it, the smell of sweet rose water filling her nostrils. 

She sighed, bringing the rose down slightly, nearly in front of her chest. And then, she smiled. It was one of the only, truly genuine smiles she had made all year, and yet, no one was around to see it. It was a small smile, but genuine none the less, and it lingered on her lips a little longer as she put the stem of the light pink rose carefully into the side-pocket on her bag. After admiring the few rose bushes a couple minutes longer, she decided to continue onwards. A few times, she took the pink rose from her pack and twirled it lightly as she walked, thinking that she would never get bored of the sight. After about thirty minutes of walking (which seemed like about ten to Kennedy), she heard her stomach growl. 

She stopped for a moment, realizing that SHE had made that sound, and not the crunching dirt below her. Laughing slightly to herself, she let one of the straps to her bag fall off her shoulder, swinging the pack in front of her in order to open the zipper. She pulled out another purple and orange 'pear', biting into it and keeping it in her mouth as she used both her hands to put the rose away and put the strap of her pack back over her shoulder. She grabbed the fruit from her mouth, taking a big bite in the process, and continued walking. She thought momentarily that she should head back, or that Flowey was tricking her into some diabolical plot. However, she had already seen a portion of what this route had in store for her. Beautiful flowers, chiller ground, and more plants and vines growing all around. It was different. And worth discovering.

*Time skip because of laziness- One hour later*

The rock walls surrounding the path had began to fade darker in color, now resembling a dark gray rather than the usual dusty red or tan-ish color. There were more roses here and there, but not growing in bunches as the others were. Kennedy nearly jumped as she heard a leaf crunch under her feet, and looked down to see a small pile of orange and red leaves. The trees she was used to never lost their color all year round, so she wasn't used to seeing autumn colors. Autumn? Was it Autumn? It felt more like summer, to Kennedy, but she wasn't quite sure how weather worked in this place. That is, if Flowey wasn't lying about this being some 'magical' place. She had a feeling that was the case, or that the dramatic yellow flower had just driven himself crazy. 

Kennedy continued walking, and even though her legs felt tired, the crunching of leaves under her feet filled her with a giddy, childish feeling. She smiled again, letting a few little giggles escape her mouth as she hopped around leaf pile to leaf pile, like a game of hopscotch. Eventually, the amount of leaves died down, and Kennedy laughed off her silly moment of childish joy, continuing down the trail normally. Even the vines on the rocks seemed to die down in number, and the roses no longer grew on the sides of the trail the further she went. She saw dandelions and yellow posies, and mentally groaned to herself at the bright yellow color. There was a small amount of the yellow flowers, but just enough to slightly tick her off. And then...the trail stopped. 

She was out in another clearing, but this was slightly different. The ground had turned to a strange color of dirt, so dark it was nearly black or gray. A cave ceiling stretched over the clearing, and a large hole in the top let in a circle of light. The light seemed to be shining on the only thing growing, which was a patch of bright, healthy green grass sporting a large bed of yellow flowers. 'Yellow...why yellow?' Kennedy thought to herself, stepping into the cave. She walked into the light, feet barely touching the grass as she looked down at the flowers. They seemed huge- definitely oversized- and abnormally perfect. She walked around them, after marveling at their size for a moment, and continued out of the ray of sunlight. 

She saw a path going further into the cave, narrow and much smaller than the one she took to get there. Slowing her pace slightly as she felt the chilled cold air of the cave, she continued down the path, only slightly lit by a few cracks in the roof of the cave. She saw the end to the path in front of her, just a normal, dark cave wall. But to the side... 'What the heck?' Kennedy thought, coming to a complete stop in front of a door in the left side of the cave. It had a small stoop, about three little stairs leading up to it, and giant pillars holding the fancy engraving on the clay above it upwards. There were no actual doors to be seen, even though the double doorway did have hinges, as if someone had taken the doors off.

She looked into the entrance, and could see nothing but darkness for a moment, until she looked a little further out. She thought she caught a glimpse of light, and stepped up the stoop to get a better look, crumbling small pieces of the stairs as she did. Sure enough, there was a ray of light further down the cave, and something...yellow? Was that yellow? Kennedy could barely tell. Braving the darkness, Kennedy stepped into the next cave, through the doorway. She couldn't even see the ground beneath her feet, which was strange to her, and almost made her panic. She kept her eyes on the light ahead of her, as to avoid looking down at her feet, walking a bit faster than she had before. As she neared the light, however... Her eyes narrowed. 

Her walking came to a halt, as an all-too-familiar yellow flower stood in the light, smiling at her. "Flow'r. Guess ya' weren't lyin' 'bout followin' me around." She said, addressing the flower in front of her as she took a few short steps forward. She didn't step into the big ray of light circling Flowey, as she was content having some distance between them. "Howdy." Flowey responded, his voice low and having an evil, amused ring to it. Kennedy raised an eyebrow. "So. This is where ya' wanted me ta' go? I ain't seen much down this way." She said. This sparked a small, deep laugh from Flowey. "Haha. Don't worry, you will soon. Very soon, in fact. This is the start of your timeline." Flowey explained, bending over into something close to a headstand as he spoke. 

Kennedy knew that to be something he did when he was genuinely amused, or feeling like he had the winning side. Kennedy rolled her eyes. "Timeline, sure, whatever. I'm pretty sure you've driven yourself loony, Flow'r." Kennedy replied, looking down at the flower again. Flowey laughed a bit more. He then summoned white bullets, and threw about five if them out at Kennedy. She was not expecting that, eyes partly turning blue and narrowly escaping each bullet. One flew a little faster than the others, twirling and spinning towards her just as she was dodging the other one. She just barely caught sight of it from the corner of her eye, moving quickly to avoid getting hit, but not quickly enough. 

The yellow bandanna that had been covering the once-bleeding wound on her arm was caught by the bullet, tearing and ripping off of her injury, landing embedded in the cave wall behind her. The bullet soon dissolved into powder, and the bandanna fell to the ground in two torn pieces. She glanced back at her bandanna, then glared at Flowey. "Hey! What's the big idea?! 'Thought we were done with that!" Kennedy yelled at the evil yellow flower, wondering if she really had fallen into a trap. "Quit complaining! I'm about to get knocked around, myself!" Flowey said, surrounding the air around Kennedy with white pellets. Kennedy looked around franticly for a way to dodge the bullets, seeing no such opening, until she heard a loud 'ugh!'. She looked over just in time to see Flowey get thrown back by a strange ball of black and white fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Finally getting into Undertale! That only took, what, *six* chapters? X-P  
> Anyways, hope you liked it! The next chapter will be up soon! :-)


	7. Tu-Toriel

Kennedy stared ahead for a moment, hardly believing that Flowey had just been knocked out of the ground. He landed further away, outline barely visible as he was tossed backwards into the darkness, hitting another cave wall. Kennedy took a minute to catch her breath, having just been panicking over Flowey's attack, looking to the right as she heard footsteps from the darkness. Her eyes widened once more, and she was tempted to blink repeatedly, just in case she was going crazy or hallucinating. But she found that she could not bring herself to close her eyes for even a second, keeping her vision on the creature stepping out of the darkness. 

It was a goat, standing and walking on two legs like a human. However, she didn't look entirely like a goat, as she had no hooves or full eyed stare. Her bare feet looked more like bunny's paws, and her hands were also paws, slightly covered with the sleeves of a purple and white tunic. She had large ears and small horns near the base of them, along with two long teeth that served as fangs and red eyes. Kennedy took a moment to realize that she recognized the tunic, but it only clicked in the very back of her mind, as the rest was blank with pure shock as the goat women stood a few feet in front of her. "What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor innocent youth." The women said, in a calming, almost motherly tone, with a smooth and unbreaking voice as she glared at Flowey. 

Kennedy didn't know how to respond, as her initial reaction was to attack or defend, but the women obviously did not mean harm. Kennedy felt frozen, as her mind tried to process her situation. The goat women noticed this, and turned her attention to Kennedy. "Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins." She explained to the stunned girl. She offered a small smile as Kennedy finally blinked, eyes falling back into a more normal state. "I pass through this place everyday to see if anyone has fallen down. You are one of the first humans to come down here in a long time, though recently, another fell in the same fashion." Toriel continued, "Perhaps you know them." She said the last line more towards herself, in a way of outwardly thinking. 

Kennedy opened her mouth slightly to try to respond, but her throat wouldn't cooperate, as she was still a bit stunned out of her mind. "Come! I will guide through the catacombs." Toriel said, slightly turning around. "This way." She said, walking in the other direction. Kennedy stood in silence for a moment, trying to get the words out of her mouth. "W-wait! What's goin' on?" She asked, finally getting a hold of her mind, trying to cast her shock of the white-furred goat women aside. Toriel turned back to Kennedy, raising her eyebrows in concern for the girl's question. "Well, we mustn't let you stay here. Things will attack you again! As I said, I will lead you out of these dangerous catacombs. Please follow me, child." She explained, turning to continue forward.

She stayed still, standing in place for a minute before Kennedy finally took a step forward. She walked up to Toriel until she was almost right by her side, and Toriel then continued walking, when she felt content that Kennedy would follow her. They walked forward, to another big double door in the darkness. It was exactly the same as the other one, stoop, pillars and all, but this time, Kennedy was able to relate the symbol above the door to the one on Toriel's tunic. 'Maybe she owns this place, then? Or somethin' like that. ...Did Flowey know about her? Did he know this was gonna happen?' Kennedy thought as she followed Toriel's steps into the doorway. Toriel then picked up her pace suddenly, as they walked through a dark hall. "Hey- where-" Kennedy started, but soon saw that the rest of the hall was lit, Toriel standing at the end of it. 

Kennedy walked out of the hallway, looking around the alarmingly pink room. The concrete floors were just a few shades darker than bubblegum pink, and the brick walls were even pinker. A square outline of red flower petals lied in the center of the room, and behind it was a big pile of them in between to flights of silver, polished stairs that casted a long shadow. "Woah..." Kennedy remarked, taking a few steps forward. As she did, Toriel started moving again as well, her longer and stronger legs carrying her at a fast pace, even when she was just walking normally. She practically flew up the right stairway and across the silver platform it led to, straight inside another, smaller door, surrounded with two sets of vines; one to each side. She disappeared through the doorway, not actually realizing how fast she was moving. 

"Hey- Toriel-...." Kennedy said, pronouncing Toriel's name more like 'torial' due to her accent. She stopped her sentence halfway, as the goat woman was already past the doorway. Looking back at the stairs in front of her, she narrowly stepped over the lines for the square of petals on the ground. She stopped in front of them for a moment, staring into the shadow they cast between them. There was something slightly alluring to it, but Kennedy didn't think much of the shadow, much less had any real opinion or feeling on it. She walked up the right flight of stairs, copying Toriel, walking up and onto the platform. This whole room seemed so fancy and huge, and was reflected as a mansion in Kennedy's eyes, so the vines on the wall seemed out of place. 

As did the old text above the doorway, written on rock in some foreign language. Two window-shaped holes in the wall also resided on each side of the doorway, and she could see the next room through them as well. Toriel stood waiting for her in the slightly less-lit room, only lightened by a single bright chandelier on the ceiling (which was also pink). She stepped into the room, hesitantly, noticing six large gray blocks dotting the right side of the room's floor, along with a yellow switch on the brick wall in front of them. "So...where are we?" She asked, slightly quieter than how she usually spoke. Toriel smiled, eyes seeming to shine a little brighter. "This is your new home, innocent one." She answered, smiling a motherly smile. 

Kennedy was about to speak, but Toriel didn't notice, continuing her words. "Allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins." She requested, walking as she talked. She stepped over four of the large gray blocks on the floor, avoiding the ones in the middle, in something like a passcode. She then flipped the yellow switch on the wall, finding it easy with her giant paws. When she did, the door at the end of the smaller room opened with a mechanical 'crick', and Toriel walked back over to Kennedy. "The Ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them." She explained, her tone still clear and perfect. 

Kennedy couldn't help relating the goat woman's name to 'tutorial' as she spoke. "Oh...uh, alright. Wait- what did ya' mean when ya! said 'my new home'?" Kennedy replied, raising an eyebrow slightly and looking straight at Toriel. "Hmm? Oh...I meant what I said, young one. You shall be residing here! ...Why do you ask? Do you perhaps, dislike being here with me?" Toriel said, eyes growing a bit sadder as she finished her last sentence. Kennedy instantly felt guilty about hurting the sweet woman's feelings, and shook her hands in denial. "No, no, no! It's nothing like that, Toriel! I just, ah...well, I don' even know this place. I barely know you, and you hardly know me. I'm jus' surprised you'd take in a complete stranger so quickly." She said, easing Toriel's worries. 

Toriel's eyes and smile faded back into her features. "Oh, that is what was troubling you, child? Do not worry, I look out for anyone who falls into the Ruins. If it would ease your mind, I could call you by name, as you do for myself." She said, a light, happy tone to her voice. Kennedy stayed silent for a moment, just grasping onto the scene breaking down around her. Then she let out a few short, nearly breathless chuckles. Why would she expect anything less from this place? She had spent a year with a talking flower and abnormal fruits and nuts that would grow no where else. Maybe Flowey hadn't lied to her, after all. She smiled back at Toriel. "I'm Kennedy." She said, holding out her hand for the goat woman to shake, out of polite habit. 

Smiling back, Toriel took Kennedy's hand (which was tiny in comparison) in her own, shaking it lightly. "What a lovely name!" She commented politely as she released Kennedy's hands. Kennedy thanked her, with a bit of shy quietness to her voice, as very few people had ever commented on her name so nicely. Toriel took another moment to smile at Kennedy, and then turned to the doorway. "Come along then, Kennedy." She said in a cheery voice. It made Kennedy happy to see Toriel cheerful, which was a bit strange in her mind, since they had just met all of five minutes ago. But the thought of strangeness was gone as quickly as it came. She walked into the next room close behind Toriel, and stopped only when she did, in between a wooden sign and a rectangular pool of water with a wide, wooden plank across it, like a bridge.

She walked into the next room close behind Toriel, and stopped only when she did, in between a wooden sign and a rectangular pool of water with a wide, wooden plank across it, like a bridge. She turned to Toriel for advice, finding that the woman had already opened her mouth to speak. "To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches. Do not worry, I have labeled the ones you need to flip." She explained, and the word 'tutorial' ran through Kennedy's mind again. Toriel turned and walked over the bridge across the water, obviously expecting Kennedy to follow. She did just that, not even bothering to read the wooden sign. It was most likely in a foreign language, anyway. 

As she crossed the plank, she saw Toriel already waiting for her by the next pool of water, same size and shape as the other. She also saw a yellow switch on the wall, very clearly labeled with three bright yellow arrows. Toriel crossed over the next wooden plank, leaving Kennedy confused. "What about this switch over 'ere?" She asked. "Hmm?" Toriel looked over her shoulder. "Oh, that one is already flipped, child. There is no need to flip it." She explained. Kennedy smiled, unable to keep it off her face as she followed in Toriel's footsteps, crossing the makeshift bridge as Toriel went ahead. Something about Toriel was very comforting, even if Kennedy was still getting used to the woman's appearance. 

All in all, she seemed like a friendly, non-threatening person, which was a change acceptable with open arms compared to the depressing yellow flower she had spent a year of her life with. 'What would it be like spendin' a year with Toriel?" She thought. She pictured them walking through bright pink hallways, and having friendly conversations. She smiled at the idea, looking at the two yellow switches on the wall. The one to the left was pointed at with three yellow arrows, clearly marking it. Kennedy went up and attempted to flip it, finding it surprisingly difficult to move. Toriel had made it look so easy before! After a few tries, Kennedy managed to pull the big switch (that resembled a light switch) down with both her hands, and she heard something loud clank. 

She looked back to Toriel just as she began to speak. "Splendid! I am proud of you, little o-..." Toriel didn't finish her sentence, thinking over her words. Kennedy raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" She asked. Toriel smiled a slightly embarrassed smile, laughing slightly at her own mistake. "Oh, I was about to call you 'little one', but you seem to be older than just a small child, so it would be in inadequate taste to call you by such a term." She explained. Kennedy chuckled a few short chuckles. "Yeah. I ain't exactly a little kid." She agreed, walking back towards Toriel. Toriel also laughed a bit, smiling down at Kennedy. "Let us move to the next room." She said, walking over some metal slabs on the floor, and past the archway, into the next room. 'Metal? Were those traps? Is that what the switch did?' Kennedy thought, walking over them with caution, not knowing how they worked.

Toriel moved towards the left wall of the next room, and Kennedy's eyes caught what looked to be a training dummy on the right side. "What's with the dummy?" She asked. Toriel smiled. "As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for such a situation, Kennedy. However, worry not! The process is simple." She said. She turned a little more towards the dummy, holding a hand half-heartedly in it's direction to reference to it. "When you encounter a monster, you will enter a fight. While you are in a fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict." She explained, in a somewhat serious manner. "Practice talking to the dummy." She requested, resting her hand back to her front. 

Kennedy raised an eyebrow. "Tahk' to it?" She asked. "Yes, talk to it." Toriel confirmed. With an uneasy and slightly awkward feeling, Kennedy walked over to the dummy, as Toriel walked over to the doorway opening, standing in front of it to watch. Kennedy stood for a moment, before saying an awkward 'Hello' to the stuffed dummy. The dummy, of course, said nothing in return. Kennedy rubbed the back of her neck, feeling foolish. In any case, Toriel seemed happy with her actions, smiling at Kennedy. "Ah, very good! You are very good, Kennedy." She complimented, and then turned to walk through the doorway. Kennedy followed, coming to a halt as Toriel turned to her again. "There is another puzzle in this room. I wonder if you can solve it?" She said. "What kinda' puzzle is it?" Kennedy asked. 

"Follow me, you will see it." Toriel replied, waiting for Kennedy to start walking again before striding down the hallway. The hallway was longer than the others, with unnecessary turns halfway through it. They were just turning around the curve when Kennedy heard a 'ribbit'. She looked behind her just in time ti see a giant frog jump at her. "Ahh!" Kennedy said, quickly dodging backwards and nearly bumping unto Toriel. "Kennedy? What is-..." Toriel started to ask, but then saw the Froggit positioned to attack. Toriel glared at the frog like a death threat, eyes narrowing and cheekbones setting to make her look cruel. The frog saw this, and with a small 'ribbit' of realization, it hopped away, deciding to sit under the vines on the wall instead. 

"What was that?!" Kennedy asked, watching as the large frog curled up into something like a kitten ball under the vines, letting out a long breath and preparing to take a nap. "That was a Froggit, one of the many creatures of the Underground. Pay him no mind." Toriel said, turning to walk forward again. Kennedy stayed silent, but followed Toriel, thinking about what she called this place. The Underground. It makes sense, at least. Toriel stopped walking in front of another wooden bridge, over a large rectangle of water stretching across the room. On the bridge and in the water, were large metal spikes, razor sharp. "This is the puzzle, but..." Toriel said, thinking over her choice of words, "Here, take my hand for a moment." She smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of a cliffhanger! :-P  
> Don't worry, the next chapter will be up today, too! For anyone reading this, there's probably many more chapters posted anyway, so you shouldn't have to worry! XD  
> Never the less, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! (It's a little bland, I know, but bare with me! It gets better!) :-)


	8. Her Own Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kennedy is going through the maze of puzzles in the Ruins, and ends up doing things differently than the usual human (the player) would. Why? Because she's *simply not part of the game*. She can't rely on text boxes and buttons, she can only use her brain. ;-P  
> Hope you like this chapter! Please comment if you have any questions, critics, or simply something to say. Thank you for reading! <3

Kennedy hesitated for a moment, but took Toriel's offer, grabbing her extended hand. Toriel then started to walk forwards, into the traps. "Wh-" Kennedy was about to protest, but saw that the traps came down just before she stepped over them, sinking into holes on the metal plates. Watching with amazement as the traps fell before Toriel, Kennedy continued through the puzzle with her, until they reached the other side. As they did, Toriel released Kennedy's hand, and stood in front of her again. "Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now." She said, explaining her actions. "Oh. Yeah...I ain't sure how I woulda' solved that." Kennedy agreed, as they both walked into the next pink room. Toriel took a few steps ahead of Kennedy, stopping again to speak to her. 

"You have done excellently thus far, my child. However...I have a difficult request to ask of you." She said. Kennedy raised an eyebrow. "What's the request?" She asked. "...I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this." Toriel continued. She then turned heel and speed walked away, down the hall of the pink room. "Uh-wai-what?" Kennedy remarked at the sudden movement, but caught a glimpse of Toirel's tunic as she dove behind a tall pillar at the end of the room. Kennedy blinked. 'Was I not supposed to see that?' She thought. Why would Toriel do this, anyway? Was there a trap or something in this room she'd like Kennedy to get past on her own? 

At a fairly normal walking pace, Kennedy walked down the center of the room, guard up, since something- like another froggit monster- may pop out at her. It was a pretty long room, but she eventually made it to the end, without any casualties. She stopped at the white pillar, that she knew Toriel was behind. "Um...what exactly was the point to that?" She asked the woman behind the pillar. "..." Toriel made her way out from behind the pillar, and in front of Kennedy once again. "Greetings, Kennedy. Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you for trusting me." She said. Kennedy smiled, but raised an eyebrow as well, almost in amusement at Toriel's childish action. 

"However, there was an important reason for this exercise." Toriel continued, "...to test your independence. I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here. It's dangerous to explore by yourself." Kennedy's smile fell, replaced with a look of concern. "Attend to business? Why do I gotta stay here?" She asked. "The next rooms are ones I have yet to explain, and come with many more casualties than the ones before them." Toirel explained. "So I just gotta stay here?" Kennedy asked, restating the question. "Yes, that would be for the best. The last child who disobeyed this ended up very hurt, from the battles they found themselves in." Toriel confirmed, hammering in how important it was to stay away from the next room. She then realized that something may still go wrong, even if Kennedy stayed there.

Toriel smiled. "I have an idea. I will give you a Cell Phone. If you have a need for anything, just call. Be good, alright?" She said, handing Kennedy a small gray cell phone. Toriel then turned to leave. "Uh-wait!" Kennedy said, sticking the cell phone in her pocket. Toriel looked over her shoulder. "...You're a very kind person, ya' know? You're really lookin' out for me. But I've spent almost a whole year on my own down 'ere, fightin' the same battle. I'm sure I could handle some overgrown frogs or somethin'. While you're off doin' whatever, can't I go there in time to meet back up with ya?" Kennedy asked. Toriel stayed silent for a moment. "Is that how you got those scars? Someone was hurting you, my child?" She asked, a dark, motherly tone to her voice, as if she was angry at whoever hurt Kennedy. 

Kennedy paused for a moment. This woman had already beaten up that annoying flower enough, having thrown...well, whatever that was, at him so hard he flew out of the ground. In all her days of fighting him, she had never been able to actually uproot him. She remembered her mother telling her that it wasn't good to hold grudges or take revenge, after Kennedy had requested to beat up her old bullies. That's all Flowey was now, right? An old bully? Since she had someone stronger and kinder than him looking after her now. She smiled nervously at Toriel. "Oh, these? Most of 'em are from fallen down rock walls or trees." She lied, trying to ease Toriel's mind. Toriel then turned to face Kennedy, sympathy on her face. 

"You said you were on your own for a year? I'm so sorry I hadn't noticed you sooner. I don't go beyond my normal route, you see." She apologized. She took a moment to really observe the child in front of her, now even more aware of her scars. Kennedy was very skinny, making Toriel worry if she was unhealthy. Her pretty face had been marked with a scar to the right side of her jawbone. She had scars dotting the right side of her body, almost as if she had shielded an attack with that side, or perhaps she had painfully scraped herself against a rocky wall she had attempted to climb. Toriel's eyes pricked with tears, and she leaned down to embrace Kennedy in a hug. "Oh, child! What a difficult year you've had! I wish I could've been there sooner!" She empathized, being careful not to hug Kennedy too tightly. 

Kennedy was shocked by the hug, having not had such contact in twelve months, alone in that forsaken clearing. The feeling was familiar to her, and she smiled as a warm sensation filled her heart, returning Toriel's hug. After what seemed to be a solid minute, Toriel pulled away, wiping the small dots of salt water from her eyes. "You deserve to come home to a clean and safe abode. It is not that I have little faith in you; you must be strong if you have survived a year in the Underground. I simply wish to give you a more proper welcoming to your new home." She said, standing up straight again. Kennedy nodded slightly in understanding. Toriel hesitated for a few seconds, before turning to leave. 

After Toriel had been gone for about three minutes, Kennedy leaned against the pillar the goat woman hid behind earlier, setting her pack down at her feet. She watched the purple coconut shell spill a little water as she set it down, but payed no mind to the few drops, relaxing against the cold pillar. She became deep in thought, thinking over everything that just happened, and everything in the year before. Her thoughts turned into memories, thinking back to the times she lived with her parents. It seemed like she had been away from them much longer than a year, and she wished that she was at home again. She then remembered that she still had her white camera, stuffed into her bag somewhere, with the picture of the gorgeous lake on it. 

She leaned down and unzipped her bag, rummaging around (careful not to squish the fruit) until she found her digital camera in between her jacket and a green bandanna. She clicked the power button, waiting for it to activate before scrolling through her pictures. The lake was the first one, just as beautiful as the first time she saw it, having captured the scenery almost perfectly. Her first thought was that she wanted to show it to Toriel. The next was a picture of a rock she found on a hiking trail that looked almost exactly like a smiling chicken. She laughed at that, remembering the fond memory of hiking with her father. The next few pictures were from her fifteenth birthday, with her blowing out the candles on a large strawberry shortcake, posing sillily with her parents, and wearing multiple party hats stacked onto one another. She was wearing a big, happy smile in the last one, and she remembered how cheerful she was that day. 

She scrolled through a few other pictures (mainly ones on her birthday, since the camera was a present she got), nearly breaking out into tears at the memories they held. Then, she heard a loud 'ribbit' from the next room. She looked to the side, into the next room through the archway, only seeing what looked to be...leaves? Was that a pile of leaves? Kennedy lowered her camera, steadily walking towards the next room. She couldn't bring herself to actually enter the room, but from her spot, she could see it a little better. Yes, that was definitely a big pile of leaves. Kennedy pursed her lips, debating on wether or not she should proceed onwards. So far, all of the rooms have been pretty straight-forward, haven't they? And if that was changed, she could always go back. 

Kennedy backed up and stood beside the pillar for a few more minutes, trying to resist the urge to explore. Eventually, she couldn't take it any more, scooping up her pack from the ground and flinging the straps over her shoulders as she walked forward. She walked into the room, heading straight towards the pile of leaves, until she heard a ring tone. This caused her to also notice the froggit beside her, and she jumped back as to get away from it. She realized then that it wasn't attacking her, and simply sitting in one place. The ringing sounded again, and Kennedy grabbed the phone from her pocket, eyes on the frog. "Hello?" She answered, even though she knew it was most likely Toriel. 

"Hello? This is Toriel. You have not left the room, have you?" Toriel asked from the other line. Kennedy opened her mouth in a silent gasp. Was this woman physic?! "As I said before, there are puzzles ahead I have yet to explain." Toriel continued, "It would be dangerous to try to solve them yourself." Kennedy gulped, remembering the spike trap. "Be good, Kennedy, alright?" Toriel said. "R-right." Kennedy replied, hearing a 'click' just after she finished her words. "Ribbit, Ribbit!" She heard from the Froggit beside the wall. Kennedy looked back up to him, just as she heard a weird, crackling voice in the back of her head. 'Excuse me human.' The voice said. Kennedy's eyes widened. 'What the fudge?' She thought. The froggit ribbited again, but the polite, deep voice in her head overruled the sound. 

"I have some advice for you about battling monsters." The slightly garbled voice continued, "If you Act a certain way or Fight until you almost defeat them...they might not want to battle you anymore. If a monster does not want to fight you, please. Use some Mercy, human." The voice finished, the froggit ending it with a 'ribbit'. Kennedy's eyes were wide, but she didn't say anything, already half expecting something crazy like this. Instead, she turned on her heel, throwing her hands up in a 'nope' gesture as she walked in the opposite direction, completely ignoring the doorway behind Froggit. She walked into the turn in the hallway, noticing some rather large vents in the wall. "Oookayyy...." She said, turning to look at the ground instead. The floor in front of her looked like it would cave in at any second.

"Better not walk on that." She muttered to herself. She took off her pack on threw it over the large circle of ground that stretched wall to wall, it landing safely on the solid ground behind it. Kennedy backed up a bit, and got a running start, launching herself into the air, just over the rotting pink floor. "Whew." She sighed, putting her bag back on and continuing down the path. Just as she entered the next room, the cell phone in her pocket rang out again. Kennedy answered it. "Hello? This is Toriel. For no reason in particular... Which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch?" The voice over the phone asked. Kennedy blinked, but then smiled, realizing that Toriel was probably making something for her. "Butterscotch. Why?" She answered, soft tone to her voice. "Oh, I see. Thank you very much!" Toriel said merrily, and then hung up the phone. 

Kennedy smiled and laughed a few nearly silent chuckles. Toriel was so sweet and kind. Who knew there were people like her? Kennedy took a few more steps forward, seeing that the plague on the wall was in a foreign language, when her phone rang again. Kennedy answered it, not even saying anything to start it off this time. "Hello? This is Toriel." The goat woman started, as she normally did. "Hello." Kennedy responded playfully. Toriel chuckled a little on the other end. "You do not DISLIKE cinnamon, do you?" Toriel continued, "I know what your preference is, but... Would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate?" Kennedy laughed a bit more, just out of how sweet and caring the woman was. "Nah, I don' dislike the stuff. I just don' like a ton of it." She responded. 

"Right, right, I understand. Thank you for being patient, by the way." Toriel answered, and then hung up the phone as a small pang of guilt ran through Kennedy. She really wasn't supposed to go off on her own...but all of these paths were straight! And she hadn't ran into too any trouble thus far. What's the worst that could happen? She'd be saving Toriel a trip back to get her! Kennedy stuffed the phone back into her pocket, and continued forward. She saw a large line of spike traps from wall to wall, and a large gray button on the floor. The floor was worn to a darker shade, leading from a big rock back to the button, most likely worn down from pushing it. "A'right. Seems easy enough." Kennedy thought aloud, walking up and hunching slightly, pushing the rock onto the button with surprising ease. 

The rock wasn't nearly as heavy as she would expect it to be. The sharp, killer traps slammed shut, now harmless slabs of metal. She walked over them, into the next room. 'I'm gettin' the hang of this!' She thought, coming into a hallway with another abnormally sized vent on the wall. She was boggled by it for a moment, but passed by it to see...oh no. The entire floor down this way was rotting, revealing little chunks of the wooden flooring. Wooden? The floor felt like cement to Kennedy, but then again, what did she know? "Oh crud." She muttered. She took a minute walking around, seeing if there was some way around all the rot. Upon further inspection, she realized some sections were in better conditions than others. Holding her breath, she stepped onto a slightly better looking square of flooring.

Nothing happened. Letting out a breath of relief, she cautiously walked ahead, picking out the best conditioned tiles and stepping on only those. Eventually, after a few different turns and twists, she made it to solid ground, and into the next room. This one also had buttons and rocks, and she immediately moved the first two, but heard a male, country slang voice in the back of her head as she attempted to move the third one. "Woah there, pardner! Who said you could push me around?" The voice said. "S-sorry...I just need-uh-you, to move so I can get through." Kennedy said, feeling slightly silly talking to a rock, as if the voice had really just been her own imagination. "Hmm? So you're ASKIN' me to move over?" The voice, presumably the rock, asked. "Uh...y-yeah? Yes, please." Kennedy answered. 

"Ah, shoot! You're just like that other little pumpkin! I reckon you want me to stay on that there button?" The voice asked, in a slightly baby-talk voice, as if saying that Kennedy was a cute little kid in his eyes. The rock moved onto the button, turning off the trap above the next pool of water. "Th..thank you!" Kennedy said, as she walked over the new found trail before her with a smile to the rock. "Aw, shoot. No one's ever thanked me." The rock commented to himself, watching Kennedy disappear around the corner.


	9. The Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peer into the parent's side of the story, and what happened after Kennedy fell into the clearing.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Just a warning, this chapter is going to be sad. Like, depressing. Next one is super happy, I promise!)

Imani sat in the living room with her husband, t.v completely turned off and neither off them saying a word. It had been nearly a full year since their child had fallen down the trail, to her death. Of course, they hadn't just assumed that. They sent a search team and everything, looking around the streets off the trail and anywhere that Kennedy may have gone. The search team found a canyon to the side of the trail, but it was too steep to climb back up after climbing down, and it was to risky to set a plank to the ground. However, they could see most of the clearing, and reported spots of blood dotted around the ground. The most likely explanation was that Kennedy had fallen down the mountain of a trail, straight to her death down bellow, and was then eaten by some animal. 

Her parents cried for days afterwards, blaming themselves, of course. Imani said she should have been there, and that her daughter wasn't worth a couple groceries, as she was out shopping when her daughter left. She had even bought a pretty new dress, that she was going to wear when she took Kennedy out to the play down the road. She couldn't even look at the dress now. Andre was trying to be strong, but wasn't taking it easy, as he was with Kennedy just before she...died. He had just watched her leave. He should have been more careful, and told her not to leave, to instead stay home and try to brave the hill with him next year. But he hadn't thought that far ahead. 

After a long time of denial, hiring different people to build a ramp down the canyon and realizing no one was up to such a crazy task, since the way down was much too risky, even to professionals. Finally, long after their friends and family had suggested it, they decided to have a funeral for Kennedy. They tried calling other search companies, to see if they could find her remains in the canyon. They knew that they would most likely not find any companies up to the task, but they wanted to have a proper burial for their dead daughter, rather than an empty casket. It was proving difficult for the couple to keep their grief in check, as to not be too gloomy around others, and had become almost completely cut off to everyone else in the world. 

Andre tried to be helpful and support his wife, but wasn't in a good place either, tear lines on his face. He looked tired and worn out, and his eyes always seemed like they were in some dark place. Imani in no better shape, hair in a very messy ponytail, clothes worn for days at a time, and dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. But they had to step outside the...'comfort' of their home today. After a week of searching, they finally found a team that would be willing to build a ramp down into the canyon valley, as long as the parents agreed to help out with the search and securing the system. Of course, they accepted, after Imani went into a small rage, asking the company why they weren't there when she really needed them.

Of course, it wasn't the company's fault, since they had just recently moved into Alpine a month before. Never the less, the manager did apologize for not being there earlier, even though he didn't feel as though it was his fault, hoping to bring Imani some closure. It had worked, and Imani began to think a little more clearly, also apologizing to the manager, and resolving the matter. Today, that company- called the 'Ricerca 'e Salvare'- was going to start the search, as the ramp had finally been built just sturdy enough to hold three people at a time. And so, Imani and Andre had to go down into the canyon with them, since they wouldn't leave the people to do it themselves. 

They were both mentally preparing to find their daughters remains somewhere at the bottom of the canyon, minds going a bit numb to feelings and thoughts. Andre, however, found it a little harder to do that. Unlike his wife, he definitely could not close himself off from his emotions, much less ones protruding from such a delicate subject. Imani stood from the couch, heading into the kitchen. She wasn't hungry, but she was hardly ever hungry any more, and hadn't eaten at all the day before. She knew she had to eat something, since it was already mid-day. She opened the fridge, but nothing looked appetizing in the slightest, and she closed it again. She opened her cupboard, seeing some small healthy snacks and cereal. 

As soon as she saw the granola bars, she instantly thought about Kennedy, and remembered how she would take them on hiking and climbing trips, usually with her father. Imani had come along a couple times, but it wasn't really her thing. Oh, how she wished she had done more with her daughter now. She shut the cabinet, tears pricking her eyes as she turned away from it, finding that Andre was standing in the doorway. They both knew each other were suffering, and took a minute to just stare before Imani let the tears spill from her eyes without a sound. Andre stepped forward and hugged her, his own eyes watering, in an attempt to be there for her. Imani stayed still for a moment, but soon hugged back, letting her tears fall freely. 

"M' god, Andre....our lil' girl..." She muttered against her husband's shoulder. Andre's tears also fell, and he hugged his wife tighter. He was going to say something, but chose to stay silent, as the aura around them was somewhat comforting. As Imani was sobbing, the phone began to ring. Andre and Imani slowly pulled away from each other, and Imani went to answer the phone, drying her eyes on her sleeves as she did. "Uh- *sniff*- hello?" She answered, trying to clear the croak of sadness in her voice. "'Ello. This is Giovanni." An Italian voice answered on the other line. "Oh. Hello. What is it?" Imani asked, knowing the man as the head of the operation she hired Ricerca 'e Salvare to accomplish. "We-ah...have run into a bit of a problem. D' ramp is...having a few modifications. We just need to change it a lit-tle, but we will not be able to finish it today." Giovanni explained. Imani stayed silent for a few seconds.

"A'right. When will you be able ta' finish it?" Imani asked the phone, a mournful tone to her voice. "Ah...that will take about a....until tomorrow night, at d' earliest." Giovanni answered. Imani closed her eyes, mostly because they started to sting from her tears earlier, not really knowing how to feel about this new information. "Okay." She answered simply. "You still want to join the search, no?" Giovanni asked, sympathy in his voice. "Yeah, yeah, we will. Thank you fur' tellin' us about this." Imani answered, rubbing her hand over her eyes. "Is not a problem." The Italian man replied. They said their short goodbyes, and Imani hung up. "What 's it?" Andre asked. "Giovanni callin', tellin' us that somethin' came up. They won't be finishin' it until t'morrow night." Imani explained. 

Andre gave an understanding look, and they exchanged stares for a minute. Imani then walked past him, out into the living room, behind the couch, heading for their bedroom. "Goin' back to sleep?" Andre asked, standing just outside the kitchen. "I...I don' know." Imani replied. She had been sleeping a lot ever since Kennedy died, wasting away her days crying and sleeping more than anything. Andre had joined her on many occasions, and tried to comfort her when he could, but sometimes he was just as torn down as Imani. This, however, was not one of those times. It was true that he was indeed very sad and still mourning, but today was one of those 'slightly-better-than-normal' days. He was feeling a little more motivated to get up in the morning, and a little less emotional, mainly because he had prepared himself to go outside and actually talk to people, as he had to do when they first went to hire Giovanni and his group. 

Imani had already closed the door, disappearing into the bedroom, only light coming from the unshaded window. She laid down on the bed, covering herself in a light, fluffy dark green blanket. She couldn't even get her eyes to close for more than a few seconds, and realized she wasn't at all tired. She just laid there for a moment, before grabbing her old, black digital camera on top of the book shelf beside her bed. She sat up, clicking the camera on, knowing she would probably end up crying and regretting looking through it. The first picture that came up was of Kennedy, on her twelfth birthday, as her grandmother had wanted a picture mailed to her. Kennedy was wearing a large smile and holding up the present that her grandmother bought her, which was a painter's kit. 

Kennedy spoke about wanting to paint pictures of mountains and rocks before, since she saw such pretty or interesting ones when climbing. The next few pictures were from her tenth birthday, which was truly a different experience, as Kennedy had grown to be a rough-n-tumble daredevil over time. She got her very own bike that year, and the happiness in her eyes shinned so bright when she rode it, Imani could have sworn it was the most wonderful expression she had seen on her daughter. Tears started to run down her face again as she got even deeper into the pictures, past happy smiles and silly moments or first introductions to family members. She stopped on a picture of Kennedy when she was four just as Andre walked in to see her draped in a blanket, crying over her camera. 

He sat in front of her, moving himself from the end of the bed upwards in order to be closer to her. He caught sight of the picture (though he saw it upside down) of four-year-old Kennedy. She was smiling a small, picture perfect smile, wrapped up in a scarf, jacket, and mittens, outside in the snow. It was one of the only truly snowy Christmases they had in Brooklyn, and Kennedy's first snow. Andre leaned forward and hugged his wife, and she dropped the camera in her lap, returning the hug. They stayed like that for a few minutes, both thinking back on all the fond memories they shared with Kennedy over the years. They cried, grief hitting them full force as they remembered their daughter. 

Eventually, they ended the hug, pulling away from each other with sniffles and tear-swollen eyes. Andre pulled Imani's blanket back over her shoulders, as a gesture of kindness, looking at her with tired eyes. Neither of them had the energy or will to smile, even though they both wanted to comfort one another. If only they had known Kennedy survived the fall long enough to drink the strange glowing water inside the cave, which (unknown to anyone) had slowly healed her internal injuries. The water allowed her to heal a few times faster than an average human. It was nothing too terribly supernatural, and most definitely not a super power, but just the properties in the water that caused her eyes and wounds to glow in battle. 

The water in her veins had to kick into overtime when she fought, keeping away anything that could infect the scrape while also trying to repair it, hence the small glow. The water worked the same way every time, and with her drinking it regularly, it was the reason she was so healthy to this day. It was also the reason Kennedy hadn't died the first day, even if she didn't know what she was doing when she saved her own life. Unfortunately, her parents did not know this, and were left with the option of her being dead as much more realistic. Though, they had hope that she was still alive a few months before, but the small glimmer was crushed completely as they fell into depression, realizing that they were going through different stages. 

Anger, depression, denial. 

A friendly therapist who heard about the situation from their neighbor had come to help, telling them they needed to accept what happened. Imani lost her patience with the therapist a few times, but eventually thought over what she said. And both of them realized she was right. Their daughter was dead, and they had to accept that. Living with that weight on their shoulders was not easy, and more often than not, they tried to comfort each other, as they were now. And yet, it was still so shocking to think about. They hoped that a funeral for Kennedy would give them some closure......

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you it would be sad. ;w;  
> There will be other chapters following what is happening with the parents, as well. I hope you enjoyed reading this, even if it was a bit depressing compared to the happier chapters of the story. Like I said, the next chapter is happier! Thanks for reading. <3


	10. Lifting Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As promised, this chapter is much happier than the last one, with the help of a certain character everyone loves! :-)

Kennedy had made a little bit progress forwards through the Ruins, passing a room with a piece of old cheese on the table. She thought there may have been a puzzle in the room, but the most she saw was a mouse hole in the wall and a small, mouse-sized nibble in the cheese. The entered the next room, about to walk straight forwards when she heard leaves crunch beneath her feet. Upon looking down, she spotted a strange looking ghost, with large dead eyes and a frown, lying on the floor. "Ahh!" She jumped back in surprise, nearly stepping on the creature. She stayed still for a moment, but then slowly took a step forward, looking down on the ghost. "Um...'xcuse me..." She said, a bit quietly, only to be greeted with a long line or two of 'z's from the ghost. 

Kennedy blinked. Was he trying to feign sleep? If so, he wasn't doing a good job of it. He hadn't made his 'snores' realistic at all, sounding more like saying the actual letter 'z' rather than anything else. The ghost muttered a very small 'Are they gone yet?' in between a line of z's. Kennedy stayed silent for another minute, before squatting down beside the ghost, just barely in the pile of leaves. "Uh, hey there. Listen, if ya' wanna sleep, I'd recommend not doin' it in the middle of a walkway." She said, in a quiet, comforting voice, almost as if she was actually waking the ghost. The ghost, who already had both dead eyes open, seemed to move them towards Kennedy. They were large, white circles, just the smallest bit darker than his body, surrounded by a large outline of black. He looked more like a sheet than a ghost, admittedly, almost like a costume you'd make for Halloween. 

The ghost stayed completely silent for a minute, no longer feigning sleep, looking straight at Kennedy, making her a little uncomfortable. "...Who are you?" The ghost asked, voice sounding sad and monotone, with a very slight drawl to it. "I-I'm Kennedy. Who 'r you?" She replied, kind smile returning to her face. "......Napstablook." The ghost answered, straight-faced, as if he had never heard such a question. Kennedy made a slightly alarmed face, as the name she had just heard sounded long and unpronounceable to her ears. "N-Nasta...Napa..." She tried, but quickly found herself forgetting the rest of the name. "Napstablook." The ghost assured again, sitting upwards, slightly hanging his body to the side. As he did, a faint oder of ectoplasm filled the vicinity, which went politely unmentioned by Kennedy. 

"Napsta-blook. A'right, I got it now." She said in a joking tone. The ghost seemed to be just observing her for a moment, moving his head to the other side, as if getting a good look at Kennedy. He did it again, and Kennedy also moved her head to the side, surprising Napstablook. He moved his head a bit slower, to the other side again, and Kennedy copied him, a small smile on her face. She laughed a few little giggles at her playful action, hoping to cheer up the monotone spirit. "Heh heh..." Napstablook did something similar to a small laugh. Kennedy raised her head back into position, looking into the ghost's seemingly eternal eyes. "Ya' seem a lil' down. I ain't never met a spirit, so I don' know how ya' work, but you don' need to be sad." She said, feeling sympathy for Napstablook. 

".....I see. I understand you. Hey, want to see a trick..?...It's alright if you don't want to..." The ghost replied, voice still luringly sad and devoid. "Sure!" Kennedy replied, willing to take a bit of time to help bring the sad ghost's spirits' up. Literally. The ghost had tears spilling from his eyes in an instant, but rather than water or ectoplasm, they were steam. They floated into the air, slowly creating a white cloud on his head, strongly resembling a top hat. "I call it 'dapper blook'. Do you like it....?" Napstablook asked, bending inwards slightly, as if he was sure Kennedy didn't like it. When he didn't hear anything, he looked back up, only to see Kennedy's eyes glimmering with amazement. "Woah! How'd you do that?!" She asked, completely bewildered and awed by the ghost's trick. 

"....you...like it?" Napstablook asked in a disbelieving tone. "O' course! That was cool!" Kennedy replied, eyes still sparkling, "Can you do it again?" Napstablook hesitated, as if he couldn't believe his nonexistent ears, but then smiled a very small smile. "Oh...sure." He said, voice a little more enthusiastic than before. He preformed the trick again, this time watching his audience closely. He saw Kennedy's eyes follow the steam drops, amazement playing her features, completely captivated. After the hat was complete, Kennedy gave a little clap, smiling a wide smile and telling him how amazing it was. A warm feeling crawled inside Napstablook, and his own smile widened slightly. He noticed the feeling, and was shocked by it. 

Kennedy noticed his sudden change of expression. "What 's it?" She asked. "Oh...I usually come to the Ruins because there's nobody around...but today I met somebody nice..... Oh, I'm rambling again. I'll get out of your-" Kennedy interrupted him. "It's a'right! I got a great idea! You don' need to be sulkin' in here by yourself! There's a really nice lady named Toriel who's takin' care of me right now. I'm goin' down to meet 'er, since she had to take care of somethin'. How about you come along? I'm sure she'd find away to cheer ya' up better than I can." She said, feeling for the ghost, and wanting him to be happy. Napstablook's jaw went slack at the request. He quickly got a hold of himself, blushing slightly at how kind Kennedy was being. 

"Oh, gee...you wouldn't want me around, making everything sad..." He said, genuinely believing Kennedy would be better off just leaving him in the Ruins. "Hey! You're not that bad! Besides, I'm sure Toriel will like your 'dapper blook' trick, too!" Kennedy assured him. "...y-you remembered what I named it?" Napstablook asked in surprise. "O' course! Ya' just told me! An' how would I forget such a cool trick like that?" Kennedy replied, standing upright. Napstablook blushed slightly again, feeling flattered. "Well? You comin', or what?" Kennedy asked, smiling down at Napstablook, who was still sitting on the ground. "I...uh...oh. Alright...." The ghost agreed, floating upright, only half an inch from the ground. 

He was about the height of a small child, coming up to Kennedy's ribcage, giving him the impression of being cute. In all honesty, Kennedy did see him as being kind of adorable, which was part of the reason she felt for him. "A'right, let's go." Kennedy said, and moved across the leaves, continuing down the hallway with Napstablook at her side. The ghost felt strange and out of place, as if he shouldn't be tagging along with this girl, but she was unlike anyone he had ever seen. Even that other human that arrived a while back had tried to fight him instead, and took a less than kind approach. At the end of the pink hall was a sign for a spider bake sale, and two spider webs, with one larger than the other. 

"I can't read this..." Kennedy muttered, squinting at the sign. Napstablook looked at her, and then to the sign, which he could very clearly read. "Spider Bake Sale. All proceeds go to real spiders." He read aloud in his monotone voice. Kennedy looked to him in amazement once again, and Napstablook felt a little better with himself. "You can read this?" She asked, smiling. Napstablook nodded. "Yes. Spider handwriting is so neat." He explained, not entirely sure why Kennedy could not read the sign. Didn't she know proper Underenglish? From what he knew, a lot of the symbols used to write were pretty basic, and easy to learn. Perhaps she had just not gone to a school when younger? Some kids do that, since monsters can have different levels of school. Some were uneducated, and still lived their life happily. 

Napstablook recalled a few memories of his level one monster school, and how he had wished he could just drop out and live without school. However...he looked up at Kennedy, who was digging into her pockets to find something to give the spiders. 'I helped her because I knew all my symbols.' He thought, the warm feeling he had returning to him. "Shoot...I don' have anythin' to give 'em." Kennedy said, after searching through her bag. "Oh...you don't have any gold?" Napstablook asked. Kennedy raised her eyebrow. "'S that common?" She asked. This worried the ghost a bit. Was she so poor as to think gold was uncommon? Was it that bad on the other side of the Ruins? "Well...um, yes. Here, I don't really need this..." Napstablook replied, blowing a bubble with what looked like white gum. 

It broke off and floated at a somewhat fast pace over to Kennedy, popping just as she put her hands out, catching twenty pieces of gold. Her eyes widened. Napstablook figured it was because of the gold she apparently rarely saw, but Kennedy turned her head to him. "Woah! I didn't know you could do that!" She said, admiring Napstablook's new found ability. "Oh...it's nothing special." The ghost replied, looking away sheepishly, not used to being admired. "Sure it is!" Kennedy replied with a smile. Napstablook blushed a bit at the compliment, just as Kennedy began to count the pieces of gold in her hand. "Wow! How did you get all this?" She asked, marveling at her first sight of real gold pieces. 

"Oh...I was saving up for a computer...but now I have it. So...I have some left over. I don't really need it...I wasn't going to use it anyway." The ghost replied. "Are you sure? I don' usually borrow money from people." Kennedy said, putting the gold pieces into one hand and clenching her fist around them, ready to give them back if need be. Napstablook's eyebrows raised. Usually, when he offered something, no one would ask him if he'd like it back, or if he was certain about giving it away. It made him feel a bit cared for. "Yes, I'm sure. ...You can have it." He answered, his smile very small, but still existent, seeming to lighten his eyes slightly. "Well...thanks, then. I'll pay ya' back one day." Kennedy said, giving Napstablook a toothy smile as she finished her sentence. 

She then walked forward, looking at the smaller web, Napstablook following behind her. The spiders web was delicately spun, with the number '7 g' threaded into the middle. Kennedy took seven pieces of gold from her hand, then turned to the ghost behind her. "Do ya' want one? Er...do ghosts eat stuff, anyway?" She asked. Napstablook tilted his head to the side slightly, almost as if dazed, still unused to the concern Kennedy was displaying for him. "....Yes, I do eat. Usually I have ghost food..." He answered. Kennedy smiled. "Can ya' settle for a donut?" She asked jokingly. Napstablook smiled slightly, realizing then that he had smiled more in that day than he had all week....or maybe month. "...Sure. It's been a little while since I've had something sweet." He answered. 

Kennedy kept fourteen pieces of gold in her hand, sticking the rest in one of her pockets. She then took a moment deciding how to give the money away, settling on just throwing it into the web. Many spiders suddenly came from behind the thick web, taking the gold pieces and scurrying back. A minute later, a bunch of smaller spiders carried two donuts out for her. Kennedy felt a little nervous about taking them, since they had been delivered by spiders, but graciously accepted. "Thank you." She said, to which one spider, bigger than the rest, saluted. Kennedy smiled, standing up to walk back down the hall. "Come on, Napsta. We can eat as we walk!" She said happily. 'Napsta?' The ghost thought, but briefly ignored the nickname, turning to the spiders. 

He bowed a bit, as a small thank you, and the female spider bowed back. Napstablook then turned to catch up with Kennedy. "You may want to save those for later..." He suggested. "Hmm? Yeah, might as well." Kennedy agreed, wrapping the pastries in a clean bandanna and putting them delicately into her bag. She smiled at Napstablook as they walked forwards, and Napstablook offered a small smile in return. He watched Kennedy for a moment as they walked, observing her optimism. He realized that in the small amount of time since they met, he had been more happy than he felt in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Napstablook is quickly becoming one of my favorite side characters, so he'll be tagging along in this story. ;-)  
> Thanks for reading! :-)


	11. Loox Aren't Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kennedy and Napstablook continue forward through the puzzles of the Ruins.
> 
> P.S, if you aren't familiar with the monster Loox Eyewalker from Undertale, please have a look at him before reading: 
> 
> http://dogburgle.deviantart.com/art/UNDERTALE-Loox-Eyewalker-570777944

Soon, Kennedy and Napstablook reached the next room, passing the sign suggesting to turn back to the spider bake sale, only to be stopped by a frog in the hallway. "Ribbit, ribbit!" The frog croaked, and Kennedy jolted as a crikity voice played in the back of her head. "(Sigh). My friend never listens to me. Whenever I talk, they skip through my words.....wait. You aren't that little one, are you? I've never seen you here." The voice said, and the Froggit tilted it's head, as though looking over Kennedy. The other froggits in the hallway looked over her as well, from their place on the floor. 

"Ribbit!" Another one croaked, and a slightly higher pitched voice rang out in Kennedy's mind. "Wow! A brand new one. You better hurry along, new one." The voice said. Napstablook said nothing, though he had a vague air of curiosity about him, since even these old froggits didn't know anything about Kennedy. Froggits tended to travel around a lot, in and out of the Ruins. Kennedy hadn't been through here at all? These froggits would have recognized her if they spotted her outside the Ruins before hand. "Oh...um, o-okay..." Kennedy replied, still not used to hearing voices in her head. 

She slowed down in front of the last froggit as it barked out a 'ribbit' at her. "Hey...I'll be honest with you, new kid. Not everyone deserves to be spared. Besides, one day you may have to fight them, even if you say you won't fight." A deeper voice played out in her head. Kennedy said nothing, eyes lowering slightly at the oversized frog before moving on, almost out of the long hallway. She then heard a ring tone from her pocket, and pulled out the cell Toriel gave her, watching Napstablook's eyes go curious. "Toriel?" She answered. 

"Hello? Yes, it is me. I just realized how messy my home actually was...and as I said before, you deserve a nice abode to rest yourself in. I was not expecting to have company, however, so my home is less than welcoming at the moment. There are a lot of things lying about here and there in that part pf the Ruins, as well. You can pick them up, but do not carry more than you need. Someday you might see something you really like. You will want to leave room in your pockets for that." Toriel said from the other line. 

"Things lyin' about? If they're yours, I'll help pick 'em up if I see 'em somewhere. I got a pack on me, remember?" Kennedy replied. "Oh...yes, that's right. I nearly forgot. Usually, children don't have such storage with them. ....you have not gone too far from the room, have you? It would be...understandable if you proceeded forward slightly, but you have not gone too far?" Toriel asked. "Nah, I don' think I went too far. An' don' worry, I ain't pickin' fights. " Kennedy answered. ".....stay safe, please. And do not trail too far." Toriel advised, before hanging up the phone. 

Kennedy also hung up, stuffing the phone back in her pocket. "Was that Toriel?" Napstablook asked, pronouncing the name as Kennedy did, out of reference. "Yep. You'll see 'er soon 'nough, don' worry. We'll be there for 'er so she dudn't have to take the trip back." Kennedy explained, smiling at the child-sized ghost. "Ohh." Napstablook offered in reply, as they continued forward. They came to another room with a large vent, and six sections of rotting floor beside the walls, three on each side. Kennedy tried to read the plaque on the wall, remembering then that she couldn't understand it. 

"What's it say?" She asked Napstablook, pointing to the symbols. The ghost looked up to the writing stuck to the rock on the wall. "There is only one switch." He read aloud. He then remembered coming to this room, and knew that the rotting sections of floors led to the floor under, which held the switch in one of the rooms. The other child had been defying gravity, falling delicately, spinning slowly as they reached the ground. He had a feeling Kennedy's fall would not be as graceful. "Hmm...what's that mean? Is it on one o' the walls?" Kennedy thought aloud, looking around her at the brick walls. 

"...No. It's downstairs....I can get it for you." Napstablook said. Before Kennedy could reply, Napstablook stopped floating, falling through the ground. "Woah- Napsta?!" She said, stepping closer to the place were the ghost had phased through the flooring. Downstairs, Napstablook caught himself inches above the ground, currently in between a wall. He looked into both rooms, the one on his left containing the switch, and the one on the right being empty. Napstablook went towards the switch, and blew a bubble, which attached to the lever and pulled it upwards, popping as it hit the wall. 

He heard a metal clank upstairs, and floated back up through the ceiling to see Kennedy smiling at the disabled traps that once blocked the doorway. She then noticed the ghost, smiling at him instead. "Thanks! That was awesome!" She said. Napstablook shrugged what seemed to be shoulders. "...I'm glad I actually helped." He replied. Kennedy laughed a little, taking Napastablook's side where his hand would be. It raised just like a sheet, but certainly didn't feel like one. He felt alive, not like a ghost at all, even though Kennedy had just seen him phase through a solid object. 

His side felt soft, almost velvety, but still much more like smooth skin than a sheet. Kennedy marveled at it for a moment, before giggling a little, walking forward as if she was holding Napstablook's hand. The ghost blushed slightly at the gesture, as no one had ever really tried to make contact with him. The next room had white pillars, and Kennedy spotted some brightly colored switches. "Hmm." Kennedy hummed as she looked over the switches, trying to decide what they did as Napstablook looked over the note on the wall. 

"The far door is not an exit. It simply marks a r...ro...rot-a-tion in per-spective." He read, having to sound out the two last words. "Ookayyy...well that helps." Kennedy said sarcastically, looking around the room, trying to decide what the switches did. She walked over to a light blue switch by the doorway. "Well...how about we jus' press all of 'em an' see what happens?" She said, pressing down on the large blue switch before Napstablook could respond. Nothing happened, and the ghost breathed a sigh of relief. "Come on! Press one!" Kennedy said, running over to the next switch. 

"Oh...uh...okay....." Napstablook said, floating over to a red switch at the end of the room. He watched Kennedy press the yellow switch beside another pillar, resulting in nothing. Napstablook shot some sort of tear out of his eye, the only ones he had that didn't ricochet besides the ones made of steam. It bounced slightly on the button, vaporizing into the air after it hit. The button was pushed down, but nothing happened. "Well. That went betta' than expe- ahh!" Kennedy said, yelling at the end of her sentence. Napstablook felt a rush of worry, and turned to Kennedy instantly, to see that a Loox had jumped in front of her. 

It launched a bunch of black and white circles at her, put together like a bad attempt at a caterpillar shape. He threw seven of them at her, all jumping around in the air as they came at her, one coming a bit too low and crashing against her leg just as she finished dodging one close to her head. "Ahg!" She made a sound of pain, not used to the Loox's attacks. They were much bigger than just bullets, and though they didn't hurt as much as them, they covered a wider area. Kennedy hissed as the circles evaporated, only leaving a burning pain in her leg. 

"Hey! Leave her alone...you bully!" Napstablook said, not used to standing up for anyone, but attempting to anyway. "What? Hey! Don't pick on me!" The Loox said, surprisingly, in his own voice, showing off two large rows of pointed teeth as he did. His voice was fidgety and whiney, having a deep ring to it, even though his voice was really more child-like. "...T-then don't be a bully!" Napstablook replied. Loox shot a few of his attacks at him, and Napstablook fought back with an attack of his own. Zig-zagged lines poured out of his eyes like tears, heading all around Loox, causing Kennedy to move more towards the side wall, as the 'tears' ricocheted off of the back wall. 

A lot of them hit Loox, who refused to move. "Oww!" He whined. Nasptablook could see Loox's health bar, realizing he had hurt him a lot more than he meant to. Kennedy however, couldn't see any health bar or battle panel, or any other buttons, for that matter. Napstablook spared Loox, coming to a halt in front of him. "Oh...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to hurt you that badly." The ghost apologized to the eyewalker, giving him a sympathetic look. Loox said nothing, instead standing while holding his side. "i could give you something....if you want it....to help." Napstablook offered, and Kennedy felt a little confused as the aura around the two monsters went from menacing to comfort in such a short amount of time. 

Not that she wanted them to fight, but she didn't know that Loox was hurt much worse than how he started, which was unscathed. How did Napsta know? Maybe it was a monster thing. "No...I'll just go back. Sometimes the spiders give me free donuts." Loox replied. Napstablook moved to the side as Loox got up, wobbling as he tried to stand up and walk away. "....If you want your donut so bad, can't you just take mine?" Napstablook asked, easily floating in front of the Loox from where he was now. "No! I don't need giveaways!" The Loox declined, continuing to walk away. 

Napstablook allowed it, moving to the side again as Loox slowly passed him. "....Well....um...if you get into another fight, though....." The ghost said, knowing that if another person tried to fight Loox, the Loox would most likely die if he couldn't get away in time. The Loox stopped shuffling away, and instead simply stood for a moment, since the ghost behind him did have a point. A lot of people liked to pick on Loox's kind. Loox peaked over his shoulder at Napstablook. "....I can still attack, you know! Don't underestimate me!" He said, but did not move forward, still peaking over his shoulder. 

".....How about I go with you? Uh....if you want me to. I'm not great company, but I can help." Napstablook replied. Loox was silent. "What? We're goin' with 'im?" Kennedy asked, causing the ghost to turn back to her. "Oh.....well...I don't want to keep you off the path you're on.... I know the Ruins. Just go straight, and I'll...um...I'll meet you there, I guess. If you still want me tagging along." Napstablook answered. "...Well, a'right. Take care of him, patch 'im up or somethin', then promise you'll meet me in the next couple o' rooms over?" Kennedy suggested, leaving Napstablook's stare blank again. He tilted his head slightly.

"...Promise? What does that mean?"

"You...don' know what a promise is?"

"No...."

"......Well, it's, ah, somethin' you can't break. It means you'll keep your word, no matter what."

".....Wow. Promises sound pretty intense. What happens if it breaks?"

"....You...loose your friend's trust, I guess. A 'promise' looses more an' more meanin' each time you break one."

"......ok, I 'promise' I'll meet up with you....."

"A'right. See ya soon, I guess...."

Kennedy frowned a bit, worried for the two monsters as they made their way down the hall, Napsta offering his side to the Loox for him to lean on. In a way, it was heartwarming to see, but she felt like she should have gone with them. 'Nah...Napsta knows his way through 'ere. He'll meet up with me. ....I don' know how to care for that eyeball thing anyway.' Kennedy thought, and turned around, walking the other way just as Napstablook and Loox disappeared around the corner at the end of the hall. 

She stuck her thumbs under the straps of her pack, observing the now disabled traps on the floor and wondering just which of the buttons caused it. She walked into the next room, past another pillar, instantly seeing a yellow button and a red button. "Darn it." She muttered at the puzzle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long to post this, I had it done, but simply didn't have the time to update! :-P  
> Anyways, hope you enjoyed it! I apologize if it seems a little rushed! Thanks for reading! o(^▽^)o


	12. Heartwarming

Kennedy pressed the yellow button again, trying to find some way to disable the traps in the doorway, since they were too tall to jump over. "Arg! Darn it! What'am I supposed to do?!" She yelled to a nonexistent audience, feeling annoyed with the puzzle in this room. "Grr...maybe I missed something in the last room." She said, heading back towards the other room when....  
She spotted a blue button that had been hiden behind the first pillar. She blinked, and then made an annoyed face. "Oh, are you kidding me?!" She yelled, "How could I've missed that?!" 

Sighing in annoyance and frustration, she walked forward and pressed the blue switch, hearing a loud metal clank from the doorway. "Finally." She muttered, gripping the straps to her pack as she wondered back to the doorway. The first thing she saw when she walked through it were two pillars, with switches beside each one. "Oh, come on! More buttons?!" She yelled to herself. Annoyed, she walked into the room with heavy, angry steps, mentally cursing herself for not being able to read the plague on the wall. She spotted a bit of somewhat poorly covered up rotting floor beside both of the two switches, sloppily painted bright like the rest of the floor. 

'Ok...so maybe...avoid those then.' Kennedy thought, walking past the curve in the room, spotting a big red switch next to a pillar a few feet in front of the doorway. She quickly scanned over the floor in front of it, deciding that it was not rotted, before pressing the button, which deactivated the traps. "Woo." She said in a bit of funny, almost sarcastic achievement, waling over the disabled traps. In the next room, two switches were behind pillars, making her search for them a little. She pressed a green switch behind the pillar closest to the exit, simply because it WAS closer to the doorway, and the metal traps collapsed. 

She smiled slightly, thinking that things might get a bit easier as she walked forward. Before she entered the doorway, she heard a soft cackle. "What the-" Kennedy started, but was interrupted by a giant carrot hoping out from behind the wall, into view. He had a wide smile, to wide to look completely natural, and two eyes and nostrils. They looked almost like they were actually just carved INTO the carrot. Kennedy stepped back surprised by the giant carrot, that was easily about the size of Napstablook. "Farmed Locally, Very Locally." The carrot said in an evil, deeper voice. 

Vegetables the size of chairs spawned above Kennedy, all devoid of color and most likely flavorless. "Wha!" Kennedy exclaimed, jumping out of the way of the strange, colorless fruits. As she moved, a large potato hit her head, and it being the size that it was, knocked Kennedy to the ground. 'Opmf!' Kennedy made a sound of pain as another large vegetable hit her once she fell, weighing a ton and seeming to crush her as it rolled off and onto the floor. The Vegetoid cackled again, a little louder this time, as he watched Kennedy prop herself up on her arms. He summoned more of the giant vegetables, and Kennedy quickly rolled out of the way of a white carrot, getting up on two feet, but loosing her balance and stuttering backwards, leaving another carrot to scrape against her shoulder and arm. 

"Ahh!" Kennedy yelped in pain, backing up to avoid another green as she did, eyes beginning to glow slightly. These were in no way normal vegetables, as they were strong enough to scrape some skin from her arm, running over the scars on her shoulder. "Part Of A Complete Breakfast." Vegetoid said, almost jokingly, as Kennedy glared at him. More and more of the giant white vegetables were summoned, and Kennedy did her best to dodge them, but they seemed to just cover the entire area, turning to dust once they hit the ground. 

She got hit time and time again, until blood actually started to drip from her wounds, eyes and wounds fully aglow they tried to heal. This made Vegetoid freeze for a moment. "Why'are you attackin' me?!" Kennedy yelled, confused and hurt, but also angry at the carrot. "....Eat Your Greens." Vegetoid responded, throwing out more white vegetables. But in the midst of them was a green carrot, and he made sure he steered it just right, so it landed on Kennedy as she dodged a white one. Instead of hitting Kennedy so hard she got knocked down, it just bumped her head, and then disappeared into thin air. Strangly enough, (even though Kennedy didn't see it), one of her wounds disappeared, practically erased from her skin. 

She huffed a bit, a little out of breath from the attacks, looking at Vegetoid as though she expected another wave of white vegetables. 'This is ridiculous. I'm gettin' my butt kicked by a freakin' carrot.' She thought, ready to dodge anything said carrot threw at her. But Vegetoid stayed still, not attacking, just looking at Kennedy. Her eyes and injuries were still aglow with blue as she stared back, but her features softened slightly and she tiled her head a bit, confused as to why the carrot ceased his attacks. Vegetoid gave a myserteous smile, just standing for a moment, almost as if expecting something. 

"You-ah...stopped fightin' me?" Kennedy asked, holding her bleeding shoulder. Vegetoid gave a small nod. ".....Well...ah, good I guess. But why'd you attack me in the first place?" She asked. Vegetoid gave no answer, staying silent for a minute before bounding away. "Hey!" Kennedy shouted after him, about to follow, but the pain in her ankle made her stop. "Ag. Darn it..." She said, looking down for a moment, giving Vegetoid time to completely disappear from sight. She growled a bit, muttering a swear as she uncovered her hand from her wound, now stained with blood. 

Catching a glimpse of her hand as she pulled it away from her shoulder, she could have sworn she saw it faintly glowing. Not believing her eyes, she looked at her hand again, seeing normal red blood. "Huh..." She muttered, figuring her eyes were playing tricks on her. She walked forward on her sprained ankle, choosing to ignore the pain for the time being. "Crud...Toriel's gonna be soooo pissed at me." Kennedy thought aloud as she walked, eyes returning to brown as she walked into a room with a bunch of little blades of grass and pink flowers on the floor. They sprouted in a thick rectangle from wall to wall, and Kennedy carefully walked over them, not knowing if the floor was rotted beneath the flowers. 

The rest of that hall went two ways, forwards and up, which required a turn. At the end of the turn was a doorway, and red leaves covered the floor in the shape of a 't', or maybe a cross. 'Well...Napstablook said to go forwards...' Kennedy thought, passing the turn and walking forward as normally as she could. Down that way was another Froggit, beside a doorway that she could faintly see into. "Ribbit, ribbit." The Froggit croaked, and a innocent, almost childish voice played in the back of Kennedy's mind. "Just between you and me....I saw Toriel come out of here just a little while ago. She was carrying some groceries. I didn't ask what they were for.... We're all to intimidated to talk to her." The voice said. 

Kennedy looked at the oversized frog, still stunned at it's ability to speak through her mind like that. Instead of acting shocked, she just gave a small huff, realizing that it was probably just it's way of speaking. She gave a small smile. "Thanks." She said, pondering slightly on where Toriel would have gotten the groceries. "No problem! Come to think of it...she did that last time too..." The voice said, and the froggit held it's chin for a moment in thought. Then, they looked back up at Kennedy. "Hey...you don't look to good." They commented as Kennedy walked towards the doorway. "Oh...yeah... I'll be fine." She said, giving a reassuring smile. The froggit offered a weak smile back.

"Well...ok...as long as you're going to see Toriel." It replied, and then the frog ribbited again, voice dying down from Kennedy's head. "I will." She replied as she entered the room. "Woaaahhh....." She said as she looked out the giant window that covered a full wall of the room. It overlooked a huge stone city, with the kind of buildings you'd see in a castle story book. There was a glass door leading to stone stairs on the far side of the wall, but it was locked securely with a padlock. As Kennedy moved to see more of the city, she made her way to the other side of the room, just observing the view for a moment. 

When she finally decided to head out of the room (just in case Napstablook was looking for her), she looked down at her ankle, making her notice a small patch of flooring that looked cleaner than the others. As if something had been sitting there not too long ago, collecting dust. She choose to ignore it, hesitantly walking past the patch of flooring and heading back out into the room. She passed the froggit, and walked over to the turn in the path of hallway. ".....Well...Napsta'll know where to find me....right? Besides, this is probably movin' towards Toriel." She thought aloud, and continued down that way, crunching over red and orange leaves and going through the doorway with a small limp.

In this room was a large oak tree, that looked tainted black, almost as if it were actually dead. Colored leaves piled around it, obviously fallen from the branches. Kennedy was about to walk past it, when she heard an "Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would." In a familiar voice. Toriel came walking around the tree a moment after, and immediately halted her pace when she caught sight of Kennedy. "Um....hey Toriel..." Kennedy said, knowing how roughed up she must have looked. "How did you get here, Kennedy? Oh dear, you are hurt! Honestly, you're just the same as that other meddlesome child." She said, walking over quickly to Kennedy, grabbing her hands. 

As soon as she did, her hands glowed slightly, and Kennedy's wounds disappeared. Kennedy held up her hand in amazement, the dried blood and small cut from before completely gone. Her scars were still there, however. Toriel stood up straight. "I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible to try and surprise you like this. The same thing happened last time." She said, more to herself than to the child in front of her. Kennedy raised an eyebrow, and Toriel realized what she said. "Err... Well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer. I seem to be no good at surprises." She said, joking tone in her last statement. "Come, Kennedy." She requested, turning and walking back around the tree. 

Kennedy followed, watching Toriel walk into the doorway of a pink brick house. 'What a cute lil' house. Didn't know somethin' like this could stay intact down 'ere.' Kennedy thought, walking forward as well, into the house. Instantly, there was a warm tone to the home, and she was greeted with the smell of cinnamon and sweetness. The warm tone to the house contributed as well, as it had tan oakwood all around instead of bright pink. "Do you smell that?" Toriel asked. Kennedy sniffed the air and smiled. "Cinnamon?" She replied. Toriel smiled wider. 

"Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I thought we might celebrate your arrival, as I did with the little one before you. I want you to have a nice time living here, not like the wretched circumstances you have been put through in the past year. Here, I have another surprise for you." She said, and then walked into the right hallway. Kennedy followed, smile on her face at the homey, heartwarming feeling she had. Toriel stopped in front of a yellow door in the hall, beside a side table with a red flower on it, window with blinds, and a large potted plant. "This is it..." She said, taking Kennedy's hand and walking straight in front of the door, feet brushing up against the yellow carpet. "A room of your own. I hope you like it!" She said.

"Thank you!" Kennedy replied, eyes widening at the door, smiling, as she hadn't had her own room in...well, a year. Toriel patted Kennedy's head, making Kennedy smile wider. She then sniffed the air, which smelled faintly of smoke. "Is something burning....? Um, make yourself at home!" She said, nearly running down the hall and to the kitchen. Kennedy giggled a little bit, finding it a bit silly despite the situation. She turned back to the yellow door and opened it, finding herself in a red and orange room. "Fall colors." She muttered joyfully to herself, smiling as she looked around. 

There was a comfy looking bed with a red comforter and orange sheets on it, the brown oakwood on the headrest warming. There were a few toys beside the bed, along with a chest full of blocks. Kennedy walked over to a bookshelf. On top was a very dusty empty photo frame and a few books. Beside the shelf was a box of kids shoes with a swirling orange design on it, the shoes in a disparity of sizes. Beside that was an orange and red lamp on a stool. She reached up and turned it off, looking around the room to see if it seemed less bright. It only barely did, as the warm colors stuck out quite obviously. 

There was nothing to scare her or to keep her up at night, like the trees or rocks had when she was living on her own. She dropped her pack at the foot of the bed, careful not to let water spill from the coconut shell, and flopped onto the bed in a playful manner. She instantly felt more tired as she realized how comfortable the mattress was, and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

*Two hour time skip*

Kennedy awoke slowly, looking up at a light orange ceiling. It took a minute for her to realize where she was, memories slowly coming back to her. She jolted upright. "Shoot! I fell asleep! Wasn't Toriel waitin' for me?" She said, jumping out of bed, two beaded braids flinging wildly behind her. She then stopped in her tracks, finding a slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie on a tan plate sitting on the ground, waiting for her, visable through the light peaking out from the hallway. The sight warmed her heart, and she smiled sweetly as she picked up the plate, carrying it out with her. 

She walked down the hallway, passing the front entrance as she walked into the next room, dining room table visible from the doorway. She spotted Toriel in an armchair beside a lit fireplace, reading glasses low as she read through a book. Kennedy smiled wider, setting her slice of pie down on the table. "Toriel!" She said, walking over to the goat woman. "Hmm?" Toriel looked up from her reading. "Up already, I see?" She said, looking at Kennedy over her spectacles. "Yeah...I didn't expect to fall asleep. Sorry." Kennedy said, smiling as she reached forward and hugged Toriel. Toriel laughed slightly.

"Oh, it's quite alright. I want you to know how glad I am to have you here." She said, returning the hug as she closed the book she was reading, setting it on the arm of the chair. As Kennedy released Toriel from the hug, the woman smiled at her. "There are so many old books I want to share. I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot. I've also prepared a curriculum for your education. This may come as a surprise to you....but I have always wanted to be a teacher. ....actually, perhaps that isn't very surprising." She explained, thinking over her last sentence. Kennedy giggled a little. "STILL.", Toriel said, in a mock offended voice. She smiled motherly at Kennedy. 

"I am glad to have you living here." She said, Kennedy's smile warming her soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a sweet, Toriel-filled chapter! She's such a mother hen, and Kenedy hasn't been parented in a long time. It's good to finally have someone like Toriel around. :-)  
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please comment to let me know what you thought of it, and telling me your favorite scene is way more helpful than you think it is. Thanks for reading! ;-)


	13. New Vs. Old

Kennedy chatted with Toriel for a moment after telling her she didn't need anything in particular. They talked about the books she owned, and the puzzles and creatures in the Ruins. After their chat, Kennedy decided to explore a little, wondering into the kitchen, the room behind Toriel. She found a brand-name chocolate bar in the fridge, wondering how it got there. The brand name was 'Tricks 'n Treats'. "Weird." Kennedy muttered, closing the fridge. She walked around the small kitchen, observing everything in sight. There was some white fur stuck in the drain of the sink, most likely from Toriel washing her hands. 

The cupboard held cookie cutters for strange gingerbread men, that looked more like gingerbread monsters. Kennedy saw a large butterscotch-cinnamon pie on the counter, but the stovetop was very clean. 'Maybe she used that fire magic she has?' Kennedy thought, looking from the stove to the pie, which was pretty big, and way too much for her too eat alone. She walked out of the kitchen. "Do ya' wanna' slice of pie, Toriel?" She asked. Toriel seemed surprised, but then laughed a bit at the question. "Oh, no child. I am perfectly full." She replied. Kennedy just smiled and walked past her, eagerness to explore the rest of the house showing on her face, making Toriel smile. 

Kennedy walked over to her room again, walking past it and into the door further down the hall. This room had more of a blue tone to it. The bed and dresser were blue, the bookshelf was blue, and even the lamp and table was blue. A cactus plant stood tall in the corner, and a pot of yellow flowers sat atop the bookcase. Kennedy spotted a few other potted plants around the room, and realized that this was probably Toriel's room. A journal sat open on the desk, and Kennedy felt curious. After all, she didn't know Toriel well enough to know what she'd write down. Maybe they were notes to the puzzles in the Ruins? 

With that in mind, Kennedy walked up to the desk and read a passage of the journal that was circled in red ink. 'Why did the skeleton want a friend? Because she was feeling BONEly...' It read. The rest of the page was filled with jokes of a similar caliber, and Kennedy stopped reading. She didn't know that Toriel liked puns! She'd have to remember that. Although...the puns on the page seemed a little dark. Pushing the thought aside, convincing herself that it was just because Toriel was most likely lonely, she exited the room, continuing down the hallway. The last door had a note on it that Kennedy couldn't read. 

"Hmm." Kennedy said, squinting her eyes as though it would help her read the foreign text. She pulled away, wondering about it for a moment, before spotting a mirror on the wall. It had been a while since she had actually looked in a mirror... Slowly, she stepped in front of it. "Whoah..." She commented, and almost laughed at herself. Her hair was unmanaged, braids a bit snarled and beads rearranged. Her face seemed a little older, even though her hair had surprisingly not grown at all in the past year (at least, she didn't think it did). 

In the mirror, she could see from her chest up, being a little taller than last year as well. Her moment of holding back laughter ended when she saw her scars. Most of them were from a powerful attack Flowey threw at her one day, which Kennedy had blocked with her arm, resulting in scars on her shoulder and one on her cheek as well. There was a fresher, jagged-looking one on her other arm, from the attack Flowey pulled before she left when he got angry about some 'battle panel' thing, and showed up on top of the rock wall. Part of it had not fully formed into a scar, but it would soon. 

Kennedy just stared for a few moments. 'Wow....I really let myself get roughed up.' She thought, feeling over the scar on her face. She was beginning to feel dark, regretful and pained, and quickly tried to wipe away the feeling. "On the bright side, I do look a lot tougher!" She said to herself with optimism, putting her hands on her hips. She stepped away from the mirror to go search around again, walking out of the long hallway and back to the front entrance. She saw a flight of stairs surrounded by a railing, and walked down them, to a short ledge, then down another flight of stairs, into a dark pink room. 

The comforting feeling was gone from this place, and her footsteps echoed as she walked, slowing her pace. She could see a door at the end of the long hallway, which was significantly colder than upstairs. Feeling a bit of a chill, Kennedy continued walking, almost as if drawn towards the door. She then heard loud footsteps coming down the stairs after her. "Kennedy!" Toriel said, causing the girl to stop in her tracks as the goat woman approached her. "I think you should play upstairs instead." Toriel said, reaching out for Kennedy's hand and leading her back up the stairs. 

"W-what? What's down there?" Kennedy asked. "....Nothing. Nothing that concerns you, child." Toriel answered, and then walked away, back towards the dining room. 'That woman really is psychic.' Thought Kennedy, as she walked away from the stairwell, spotting a bookcase. The books were old and worn, as if read many times. Kennedy walked past it, into the yellow themed hallway, entering her room that was still dark. She felt tired again, realizing that she hadn't actually gotten a lot of sleep. She lied back down on the bed, after checking her camera (which had a little clock in the corner) to see what time it was.  
She wasn't sure if time worked the same here, since it seemed to be a magical, strange place, but it was midnight by her watch. She curled up under the red blanket, and fell asleep, having no dreams.

*Time Skip*

"Oh, hello!" Toriel said to a groggy Kennedy, who came walking into the dinning room with bed-head. "Morning." Kennedy replied, stretching a bit, and just barely catching sight of the title on Toriel's book. "Which book is that?" She asked, feeling as though it was familiar. "Oh. You want to hear about the book I'm reading? It is called "72 Uses for Snails". How about it?" Toriel asked. Kennedy hesitated for a moment, before answering with a shrug. "Sure, why not?" She said, walking over to Toriel so she could see the pages over her shoulder. 

Toriel talked about a few little snail facts, which actually interested Kennedy, but Toriel continued to read, saying 'bother me if you need anything' before turning back to her book. Kennedy decided to read a book of her own, pulling a random one from the shelf beside the fireplace. It was a history book. She didn't much care for history, but figured this place's history may be different. She flipped to a random page. 

'Trapped behind the barrier and fearful of further human attacks, we retreated. Far, far into the earth we walked, until we reached the cavern's end. This was our new home, which we named...."Home". As great as our king is, he is pretty lousy at names." The page read. Kennedy blinked, flipping back through the pages a bit, to get more information on the subject. 

"Long ago, two races ruled over the Earth: Humans and Monsters. One day, war broke out between the two races. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell." That was all that was on the page. She turned to Toriel, who looked happy reading her book. Kennedy wanted to ask her about the vague history book, but decided against it. 'She looks happy jus' readin'. Don' wanna bother her with things like war history.' Kennedy thought, slipping the book back into place. 

She spotted a stand of fireplace tools beside the bookcase, appearing to be filed down at an attempt to make them safer. Kennedy wondered away from them, searching for another bookcase. Most of the books in any of them were vague, or were a bunch of random facts about a certain topic. As Kennedy was looking through the worn books next to the stairs, she had a nagging feeling that something was waiting for her down there. She slowly crept her way down the first, smaller flight, aware of Toriel in the dining room. She paused at the top of the next flight, looking unsure. But she wanted to know what was in the room, and made her way down the last flight of stairs. 

The room around her was darker, emptier, and colder, just as it was before, and Kennedy could see the door at the end. She longed to open it, just a little, for a peak outside. It couldn't be the rest of the Ruins. The Ruins were warm. She walked forward slowly, until she heard the echo of louder footsteps. "It is dangerous to play here, Kennedy." Toriel said, taking her hand like she was a little kid and leading her back up the stairs. She gave a look to Kennedy, and then proceeded to go back into the dining room, where she usually sat. Kennedy followed her into the room, watching as she sat back down in her chair. 

"What's so dangerous about it?" She asked. Toriel looked at her. "It is simply....too cold. Very cold. And it is not a stable room." She replied, opening a new book. Kennedy felt a little hurt that Toriel couldn't tell her what was dangerous about that room, as she was obviously keeping something from her. That night, she heard a loud tapping in the walls. She finally got up out of her comfy bed to investigate, finding that it seemed to be coming from the red dresser. "Huh?" She said, opening the dresser to find nothing. "Bawk hure." A muffled voice said. Kennedy was fully awake at the sound of the voice. 

She slid the dresser off the wall, still a bit difficult even with her muscle strength. She nearly gasped when she saw a hole in the wall, just bigger than a mouse hole. She got on her knees to look at it, feeling a cold breeze. "Howdy." A familiar voice said. Kennedy's mouth fell into a frown at the voice. "....Flow'r?" She asked, backing up slightly. An all-to-familiar yellow flower squeezed his way into the room through the hole in the wall, stem still tucked into the ground bellow him. "Yep. Man, this is a....homey little room..." Flowey replied, looking around the room and almost feeling uncomfortable because of just HOW homey it was. Kennedy snarled at him. 

"What're you doin' 'ere? I thought Toriel taught you your lesson." She remarked, tempted to just shove the dresser on his face. "Yeah....that. Well, guess not. In any case, Kennedy, you do know that you have to keep moving?" Flowey said, twirling his stem upwards slightly to be further into the room, bottom of his stem attached to weeds protruding from the ground. "What're ya' tahkin' about? Toriel's nice, an' she offered to take care 'o me." Kennedy replied. Flowey shook his head, laughing slightly. 

"Kennedy, she's never gonna let you go! You do want to leave- I can see it. Already getting bored of this place? I wouldn't blame you." The yellow flower replied, smiling evilly. Kennedy stood up, about to push the dresser onto Flowey. "No, no! Wait a minute." The flower protested as the dresser started to slowly move back over the hole. Kennedy halted her movements for a moment. "You know you'll have to leave her! She won't let you continue on! Look, I sent you down this path to get you exactly where you wanted to be- your home! Back on the surface!" Flowey said, trying to touch something in Kennedy's heart that would convince her to move on. 

"...I gotta home here." She said, pushing the dresser further. "No wait- what about the surface?! Your real home?! Your friends?! Your parents?!" He said, listing off things as the hole got smaller, actually starting to dig into the weed he had connecting him to the soil. Kennedy stopped moving at the mention of her parents. Flowey sighed a small, almost inaudible sigh of relief, looking back up at Kennedy. "Your parents! That's why you set out in the first place, right? So they'd remember you? Once you're out, they'll remember you exist and come running! Don't you wanna see them again?" He pressed on, growing the weeds slightly to be a bit higher. Kennedy released the dresser. 

"I get it, ya don't want me ta' snap that weed holdin' ya up. Get outta here, flow'r." She said glaring at him. "Err...no, that's not all of it. Really, think about your parents! Kennedy crossed her arms and looked away from Flowey stubbornly. "A'right, I get it. Leave, you sad sack of pollen." She spat, not turning to look at his paper-tearing smile. She heard Flowey shift himself back out of the hole, not turning to watch. 

She felt the cold breeze on her again and frowned a small frown, realizing that.....Flowey, for once, was right.


	14. Before the Snow Storm

Morning came too soon, as Kennedy only had a few hours of sleep after her encounter with Flowey. She awoke early in the morning, a habit she picked up from sleeping in a place where the sun was clearly visible and very bright every morning, and seemed to rise just enough from over the rock wall to shine down on her closed eyes every day. However, there was no sun on her this time. Only her red blanket and orange sheet. She sat up groggily, looking around and briefly noticing that this bedroom didn't have a window. Did any of them? 

Now that Kennedy thought of it, she realized that Toriel only had windows in the front of her house. This made her even more curious as to what was outside, and she remembered the cold air coming through the hole in the wall. She had pushed the dresser back into place before crawling back into bed last night, laying restlessly for a couple hours until she finally fell asleep. Kennedy swung both her feet lazily over the side of the bed and onto the floor, remembering that she had taken her boots off and put them beside the door, leaving her in only light gray socks that had been washed in the stream a few days ago. 

She was reminded of Flowey at the mention of the stream, and the things he said to her after she came into the clearing to get her dry clothes. Her thoughts led back to what he said a few hours earlier, and she turned her eyes to the floor. 'I know I can't stay 'ere. I never intended to. I didn't even think I was gonna' find Toriel 'ere, or finda' house 'ere. Don' know what I was expectin', really...' Kennedy thought. She rubbed her hand down her face, letting out a deep sigh. She knew Toriel didn't want her to leave, and she knew it would make the woman sad to even speak of leaving, but what else was she supposed to do? 

'Truth be told...I can't handle it...' Kennedy thought. Toriel was so nice and motherly that...it reminded Kennedy of her own mother, and what she was missing in her life. She hadn't been able to really place the somewhat overwhelming feeling before, when she first met Toriel, but now it seemed pretty clear. Homesickness. Even stronger than before, since she had a constant reminder of her mother greeting her every morning. While this place was very nice, and it pained her to think of how hurt Toriel would be, she knew it had to be done if she ever wanted to make it back to her real home. 

Kennedy stood up, walking through the open door and out into the yellow-themed hallway, socks rubbing against the carpet. From the hallway, she could see straight ahead to the entrance, in front of the stairwell. She froze when she heard Toriel's voice, looking up instead of just wondering forward sleepily, taking in the scene in front of her. "Is that right? Well I'm sure she'll be happy to- Oh! Goodmorning, Kennedy." Toriel turned her head to Kennedy, cutting her sentence with the ghost in front of her short. Napstablook was in front of the doorway, as he had been the one talking to Toriel, and turned his head as well. Kennedy's eyes widened when she caught sight of the ghost, suddenly filling with light, bringing a smile to her face. 

"Napsta! I was wonderin' what was taken' ya so long!" She said, rushing forward the rest of the way and hugging the ghost. Napstablook didn't know what to do, as it was a rather sudden action, and he hadn't been hugged in a very, very long time. "....Oh....uh, I had to take care of a few things after I took Loox back to his usual spot. And...I...didn't know you would miss me." He replied as Kennedy pulled away from their hug. "What'dya mean 'didn't know I'd miss ya'? You're my friend! An' it's not easy to jus' forget a ghost." Kennedy said, much more awake than she was a minute ago. 

Napstablook blushed slightly at Kennedy's words, since he wasn't used to people being so blunt and caring at the same time. Toriel smiled at the two. "Well, I'm glad you made it, Napstablook. It looks as though you promised Kennedy you would meet with her?" She asked. Both Napstablook's and Kennedy's jaws fell slack, but Napstablook recovered a little quicker. "Um...yes, how did you know?" He asked. "She's psychic." Kennedy commented, making Toriel laugh. "Oh, no, not at all. I just believe I've never seen Napstablook devote himself to something so easily, since he is usually just lying around the Ruins." She replied.

Napstablook looked up at her. "You...know me?" He asked. "Well, yes, I do. Not necessarily on a personal level, though I have seen you around the catacombs." Toriel answered. Napstablook didn't respond, simply looked flattered, and Kennedy smiled at him. "Well, I shall make some ghost food for you, Napstablook. Please, make yourself at home." Toriel said politely, and then walked away, into the kitchen. Kennedy turned to the ghost beside her. "So, wanna tell me what took you so long?" She asked in a jokingly offended tone. 

"Oh.....I had to go back home to get some money to buy Loox something to eat. Afterwards, I had to take him home, and he doesn't live in the Ruins. He lives outside the doors. So, I had to help him through puzzles, and he got frustrated and punched a pillar." Napstablook said, not used to telling stories. "Jeez, he's got a bit of a temper." Kennedy commented, but then remembered her outburst when she was aggravated at the buttons puzzle. "Then again, I got no room ta' talk." She said, laughing a bit. 

"....." Napstablook stayed silent, just looking at Kennedy for a moment as she laughed. It was the first time he had seen her so laid back. Her clothes were a little messy and wrinkled, her boots were off, and her pack was no were to be seen. Her hair was a bit frizzy, as it always was in the morning, one braid overlapping the other in an unusual way. Kennedy turned her head to the side slightly. "Ya' a'right?" She asked the ghost. "...Yeah, I'm fine. You seem happy." Napstablook replied. Kennedy smiled again. "I'm happy you're here! Hey, I know that can't be all o' your story. There's no way that took ya' two days." She said. "Oh. Uh...no, there is more. You're right." The ghost replied. 

*Time Skip*

Kennedy and Napstablook were sitting in the dinning room, after having been talking all day, and getting to know each other a little better. The reason Napstablook was gone for so long was because the Loox had invited him to stay for dinner, in return for helping him. He spent the night there, and left in the morning. As he was floating through the Ruins, he found a few things scattered around. He picked some of them up, and found that most of them belonged to monsters around the Ruins. Almost each of them gave him a few coins or something else in return, and a few asked him to take things to others. 

That took up most of his day, and once he got tired, a moldsmall invited him to lay down with them. After a while of thinking over life with Moldsmall, he fell asleep. When he woke up, he set out forward to find Kennedy. "Still, that's kinda crazy...an' a little weird. Almos' like a video game. Ya' know, those ones where ya' gotta' help a bunch o' people to progress?" Kennedy said, elbows on the table as she listened to Napstablook. "Oh...I don't really use my computer for video games. I'm more into music..." the ghost replied. "Haha! Yeah, I like music too. I'll have to get you an ipod or mp3 player or somethin'." Kennedy said, taking her elbows off the table as Toriel set a plate in front of Napstablook. 

"....mp3 player? Ipod?" The ghost asked. Kennedy spent her dinner conversation on explaining what an ipod and an mp3 player was to Napstablook, which led into some deeper conversations about technology and music as they ate. Napstablook seemed to be eating something, at least, but it was invisible to Kennedy's eyes. Toriel did call it 'ghost food', after all. For her, Toriel made some sort of cheesy pasta with large, round noddles. Toriel herself seemed to be eating.... snails? Something like that. 'Well, not like she'd eat like me.' Kennedy thought, not mentioning Toriel's meal. 

After dinner, Toriel made a bed for Napstablook in Kennedy's room out of many big blankets, (like the one on Kennedy's bed), in various different colors. She welcomed him to spend the night, to which Kennedy encouraged him to accept. They were in her room, both on their individual beds, just talking to each other. Kennedy told Napstablook stories of when she still lived normally, on the 'surface', as Flowey called it. She told him about her birthday parties, and her old school. They spent a whole hour talking about school and a choir class Kennedy once took, along with the people she met there and the things she knew because of her classes. 

"That's amazing. ....It's a lot different than what my school was like." Napstablook said. "Hmm? Like, a ghost school?" Kennedy asked. "Well...sort of. It was a monster school. We don't have different grades like that...like 'middle' or 'high'. We just have levels." The ghost explained. "Levels?" Kennedy asked, even more intrigued by what Napstablook was saying. "...Yeah. Like Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3? My monster school went up to the 4th level." The ghost explained. "Is that why you can read those signs? that's somethin' they taught you?" Kennedy leaned forward slightly as she spoke. "Yes." Napstablook answered simply. 

After a little while longer of speaking, she noticed Napstablook yawning. "You tired?" Kennedy asked, finding it strange to see a ghost yawning. "Yes..." Napstablook replied. Seeing him yawn made Kennedy yawn a few seconds afterwards. "Yeah...*yawn*. We should get some shut eye." She said, getting up and walking past Napstablook to turn of the lamp that lit up most of her room. Napstablook watched her silently as she crossed the dark room back to her bed, noticing suddenly that her pack was at the foot of it. ".....Goodnight..." Napstablook said, feeling more tired than he remembered being. 

Little did he know, it was actually a few minutes past midnight. "G'night." Kennedy replied, both lying down in their beds. Napstablook didn't need covers over him, as he couldn't get cold, and instead just snuggled into the comfortable make-shift mattress of blankets. Kennedy's blanket rested around her, pulled up just past her chest, arms lying to her sides. She stared up at the ceiling, thinking over everything that happened to her in the past year. She also got to thinking about Toriel, and thinking about what Flowey said to her. 

It was true, Kennedy wanted to leave, to be able to make it back to her parents. At the same time, she wanted to stay with Toriel, since the woman had been so kind to her, and most likely alone for a while. However, the thought of seeing her parents again was a bit stronger than just staying in the Ruins forever. 'What otha' option do I have?' Kennedy thought, placing one hand next to her head in a more comfortable position. She still knew it would hurt Toriel to see her leave, especially with all she's done to make Kennedy happy. 

But homesickness overpowered a nice vacation any day, and it was no different for Kennedy. She turned her head, looking over at Napstablook on his pile pf blankets, already sleeping soundly. 'Maybe he can stay 'ere. I'm sure It'll make 'im and Toriel happy.' She thought, 'Besides...even if I wanted to, I can't stay 'ere forever...I do got people waitin' for me back on the 'surface'. I gotta make it back.' Kennedy then fell asleep a minute later, with that thought on her mind.

*Time skip to Morning*

Kennedy had been awake for about twenty minutes, quietly slipping on her boots and jacket, combing down her hair with her hands. She looked over at Napstablook, still asleep as though he hadn't seen a bed in weeks. Kennedy smiled, setting his spider donut (which was surprisingly still fresh) beside his bed, wrapped in a paper towel she folded up yesterday. She let him sleep, hoping that he would stay here with Toriel once she left. A small part of her wanted to wake him and bring him with her, so she would have someone she knew with her. However...this was better for both Napstablook and Toriel. 

Kennedy stood, footsteps quiet as she walked away from the ghost, picking up her pack from beside her bed. She opened the door, careful not to wake Napstablook as she closed it behind her, walking away and heading towards the dining room. Toriel was sitting in her seat as usual, looking up from her book as Kennedy entered the room, instantly noticing her clothing and backpack, boots louder than plain socks as she stepped closer to the goat woman.

Toriel felt a mental sting at the sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of a cliffhanger there! Lol! Don't worry, the next chapter will be up tonight as well! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this one, because it seems that Kennedy is finally moving on from the Ruins. Thanks for reading! (^_−)−☆


	15. Snowing Emotions

"Toriel....I'm sorry. I can't stay here." Kennedy said, looking guilty as she spoke. "....Whatever do you mean, child?" Toriel replied, no longer paying attention to her book, already alarmed by Kennedy's clothing. "I mean.....I gotta keep goin'. I've got people waitin' for me back home...back in my real home." Kennedy replied, keeping her gaze on the floor, until Toriel stood from her place. "....Stay here." Toriel replied. Kennedy was unsure what she meant, because her tone made her sound as though she was asking her to stay here in the Ruins with her, but she walked off, making Kennedy think she may have been talking about her staying in the living room. 

Never the less, since it wasn't too clear, Kennedy began following her, even if she was far behind due to how fast Toriel was going. Kennedy saw her go down the stairs, into the cold, dark pink room she had seen earlier. Hesitantly, she followed, walking down the stairs and into the chilled room, jacket now sheltering her from the cold a little better than before. She saw Toriel turned away from her in the middle of the room, and walked towards her. "Toriel...I-" She started, but was interrupted. 

"You wish to return 'home'. As you have stated, just like others before you. Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the underground. I should have destroyed it the last time....I cannot have anyone else leaving." Toriel explained. Kennedy's eyes widened. "But! Toriel! Wait a-" 

"Now...be a good...child. And go upstairs. Please." Toriel interrupted, walking away. 

Kennedy felt a little dumbstruck. "Wha- Toriel! Wait!" She said, speed walking forwards, down the long hallway. Toriel stopped in front of her. "What'dya talkin' about? I need to leave! I'm sorry, but I do wanna make it home." Kennedy said, getting her chance to speak once the goat woman stopped. "....Every human that falls down here meets the same fate...as I have explained to other children, who also wanted to leave. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die." Toriel replied, still not turning around to face Kennedy. Her words, sounding colder and harsher, made Kennedy go silent. 

"You are just as naive as the other children....If you leave the Ruins... They...Asgore...will kill you."

"....Who's Asgore?"

"I am only protecting you, do you understand?"

"...I-I understand, Toriel, but-"

"Do you really? Do you really understand, child?"

".....Toriel...."

"....Go to your room, Kennedy."

"But-!" 

Toriel walked away once more, her long legs carrying her faster then Kennedy could keep up with. Kennedy had a distressed look on her face. "Toriel! Please, wait a minute! I...I need to leave! You gotta understand, it's got nothin' to do with you, I swear! I DO want to get home! I can make it out on my own, don' destroy the door!" She said as she followed Toriel as they went around a corner. "Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning." Toriel replied, voice devoid of emotion. Her tone made Kennedy freeze for a moment, but she continued moving once Toriel was out of sight. 

"Wait! Please, that's the only way outta here! You gotta listen to me, Toriel, I'll be fine! Just wait a second!" She said, slightly catching up with the woman as she spoke, backpack slightly rattling at the pace she was going. Toriel stopped, and Kennedy stopped a little ways apart from her. They were at the end of the hall, where a huge purple door sat. The only way out. "Toriel!" Kennedy said, trying to decide if the woman was even still listening, "Wait! Do ya' understand how much this means ta' me? I-I need to leave, I got to see my parents! My friends! My family! I know you're just lookin' out for me, but I'll be fine out there!" 

Kennedy wasn't entirely sure if she could keep her word. After all, she had no idea what it was like outside of the Ruins. It couldn't have been much worse than before, though. She had been fighting an unbeatable opponent for a whole year, after all. "...You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just the same as the others. There is only one solution to this. I shall have you prove yourself...just as I had the last one. Prove to me you are strong enough to survive." Toriel said, turning to Kennedy. "Wha- You...want me ta' fight you?" Kennedy asked. Toriel just narrowed her sad eyes, looking straight through Kennedy. 

Black and white balls of fire filled the vicinity, spawning all around Kennedy, being thrown at her. "Ag!" Kennedy made a sound of pain as a fireball went past her, grazing the area between her neck and shoulder. Toriel took a deep breath, letting her facial expression change momentarily, before setting her shoulders, hands glowing slightly as she prepared another attack. Kennedy tried to talk to Toriel, but her words died in her throat once she caught Toriel's eyes. More fireballs flung out at her, Kennedy just barely dodging them, one hitting her leg and side. "Agh!" Kennedy held her side as the fire turned to ashes, resting around the wound.

Her eyes started faintly glowing as the water in her system from the stream tried to mend the burn, keeping the ashes as far as possible from it as Kennedy stood a little straighter, accepting that there would be no way to talk Toriel out of this. More fire was thrown at her, Toriel's hands lifting to control where the fire spat. Kennedy got hit again, not quite used to how Toriel's attacks worked, trying to keep her hands away from her injuries in order to make it easier to dodge. Toriel prepared another attack, trying to keep the expressionless look to her face as she saw a few drops of blood from Kennedy's wounds hit the floor. 

She then noticed something strange. Kennedy's eyes were aglow, and her wounds were steadily following suit, glowing a light blue. It surprised Toriel, but she didn't mention it. After all, what use is that magic if it cannot save a child? She took another deep breath, launching another attack. Kennedy dodged as much as she could, but the fire seemed to almost follow her around, trapping her in a certain spot and burning her, even if her wounds looked more like scrapes than burns. Kennedy felt her body try to kick into a second gear, standing her upright as she got her second wind. 

'Shoot...' Kennedy thought. She had seen enough survival shows and such to know that if your body was suddenly getting a second wind like this...it thought you were dying. Toriel raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" She asked, noticing how the child was only dodging, and not attacking, even though she could see the outline of a weapon in her pocket. "I...don' wanna fight you." Kennedy replied, tasting blood as she spoke. "Attack or run away!" Toriel said, launching a bunch of swirling attacks Kennedy's way, which she could barely dodge. 

Her vision was starting to get hazy, and she found herself wondering if this was how she'd die. For the next attack, however, the fire seemed to swerve around her instead of straight at her. Kennedy was confused, but thankful for the miss of target, preparing to doge the next. She noticed Toriel acting kind of aloof, and her next attack also swerved away from her. "Fight me or leave!" She said, obviously wanting Kennedy to go back. Even with the facade she was trying to pull, seeing Kennedy in pain did hurt her. "...I won't fight you." Kennedy said, voice weaker, as she couldn't seem to muster the strength to speak properly. 

Hearing the broken voice almost made Toriel crack. "Stop it." She said, launching another attack. They all swerved around Kennedy, as she started walking closer to Toriel. The woman couldn't bring herself to hurt Kennedy any more than she already had. Kennedy looked so broken... "Stop looking at me that way." Toriel said, trying to seem like she was still fighting Kennedy by making her attacks go a little closer to the target. Kennedy took a few steps forward, eyes on Toriel as she tried to continue standing, though her legs were quickly loosing strength. 

"Go away!" Toriel said, guilty look on her face as she swerved the attacks further from Kennedy. Kennedy couldn't speak, or at least felt like she couldn't, walking a few steps forward again as she saw Toriel's hands glow slightly. Kennedy's wounds were fully aglow now, magic working to mend Kennedy, so much so that Kennedy saw a reflection of the glow on things she looked at. She figured she must be dying. Toriel couldn't bring herself to look at Kennedy, who was still walking forward in between attacks, as though the fire might still hit her if she wasn't on her guard. 

"I know you want to go home, but..." Toriel said, watching as Kennedy wobbled slightly forwards. "But please, go upstairs now...I can heal you..." Toriel continued. Kennedy said nothing, but took another step forward, much closer to Toriel than she was at the beginning of their fight. "I promise I will take good care of you here." Toriel said, in an almost convincing tone, even though her voice broke slightly. "I know we do not have much, but..." Kennedy took another step forward. "We can have a good life here." Kennedy stopped, just a foot in front of Toriel. She looked up at her, and Toriel gave her a sympathatic look. 

"Why are you making this so difficult?" She asked, "Please, go upstairs." Kenndy smiled slightly, now holding her glowing wound, as she looked at Toriel. "...I'm...sorry, Toriel." She said, with the little strength she could muster towards speaking, voice sounding small and broken. Toriel's eyes watered and she gave such a sad look that Kennedy's heart throbbed. Toriel then smiled slightly as well, averting her eyes. "Ha, ha..." She looked back at Kennedy. "Pathetic is it not? I cannot save a single child." She said, feeling as though the situation was a little ironic. Kennedy's smile fell, and she gave a sympathetic look, even though her eyes were starting to look glassy and far off. 

She looked up at Toriel with that expression, trying to somehow get her message through in a better way. "Toriel..." She croaked, trying to think of the right words to say. "No, I understand. You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for you to continue growing up in a place like this. My expectations... My loneliness... My fear... For you, my child...I will put them aside." Toriel explained, defenses lowering and her seeming less threatening. 

Kennedy felt her eyes water, and the corners of her mouth curved upwards ever so slightly. "If you truly wish to leave the Ruins...I will not stop you. However, when you leave... Please do not come back." She said, tears pricking at her eyes as she cupped Kennedy's face with her giant paws, hands glowing and healing Kennedy. "I hope you understand." Kennedy could now see clearly, and her breathing returned to a normal pace, light returning to her watering eyes. Toriel leaned down and enveloped Kennedy in a warm hug, which Kennedy returned instantly. 

Toriel stayed there for a moment, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her. When she was about to pull away, Kennedy pulled her closer, letting a few tears slip from her eyes. Toriel stayed still for a second, but then smiled a small smile, letting a tear fall as she hugged back with a heavy heart. Eventually, after a while of just hugging and crying, Toriel released her from the hug. "Goodbye, my child...Kennedy." She said, standing tall in front of Kennedy. "...Goodbye, Toriel." Kennedy replied, drying her eyes on her sleeves. 

Toriel walked past her, about to go down the hallway, stopping for a moment to look back at Kennedy, who had turned to look at her as well. Toriel stayed silent, but gave a smile, turning to walk away. "Toriel?" Kennedy called, and Toriel halted her walking, looking over her shoulder. "...Thank you." Kennedy said, words laced with sincerity, and a smile on her face, eyes still saddened, but filled with light. "...B...Be good, alright?" Toriel replied, tears threatening to spill as she smiled back. Kennedy nodded, eyes watering again as well. And then, Toriel turned her head, regaining her composure as she walked away. 

Kennedy watched her leave until she could no longer see her past the turn in the walkway, and then turned to the door, feeling a tugging sensation in her chest. She slowly opened the door, hinges echoing as she closed it behind her, readjusting her pack as she continued forwards, down a very long purple hallway, floor gradually fading to different shades of pink until she reached the end. Her heart still felt wounded from her moment with Toriel, and she stopped in front of two large brick pillars, looking back down the long hallway at the closed door. 

She stared at it for a few moments, before turning and walking into the darkness. But her moment of feeling soon faded at the scene in front of her. "You." She said, voice lacking slightly in the harshness she would have applied to it as she addressed the yellow flower standing tall in a ray of sunlight, surrounded by a patch of grass. "Clever. Verrryyy clever." He said, smile turned upwards and eyes half lidded, "You think you're really smart, don't you?" Kennedy raised an eyebrow at his words. "I've told you before, Kennedy, in this world, it's kill or be killed. So...you were able to play by your own rules." 

His paper-tearing smile returned to his face, eyes going dark. "You spared the life of a single person. Hee hee hee.... I bet you feel really great." His smug smile returned to his face and Kennedy narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, I do, thanks for askin'." She said sarcastically. "...You didn't kill anybody this time, Kennedy. But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die...an probably stay dead. Hahaha. What will you do when you tire of trying?" Flowey's horrifying smile carved his face, eyes open wide and pupils small like a madman. 

"Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely? You don't even have a real purpose here." His eyes went black, smile dark and strange. Kennedy took a step back. "I am the prince of this world's future. Don't worry, Kennedy, my plan isn't regicide. This is SO much more interesting, now that you're also in the mix." He let out a loud shrill cackle, unlike anything Kennedy had heard him make. He then burrowed back into the ground. "....Rotten flow'r." Kennedy remarked, making sure to step especially hard on the spot Flowey was as she walked over it. 

She came to a doorway, much like the large ones she had seen in the Ruins, and opened it, instantly feeling cold air. "Woah..." She commented as she shut the large door, looking out on a path covered in snow, with tall trees to each side. She began walking down the long path, watching her breath float up and into the air. She felt a little alone, and that obviously did not help her situation. She thought she heard something, but passed it off as just a twig snapping under her feet. There was something familiar about the snow that Kennedy couldn't quite place. 

Though it was cold, it had a comforting feel to it, as though she was walking through someplace familiar. The trees around her had lost all of their leaves, and the sound the snow made as she walked over it was pleasant. Suddenly, Kennedy noticed Napstablook floating up beside her. "N-Napsta? What'r'ya doin'?" Kennedy asked, surprised to see the ghost was even past the door to the Ruins. "...I don't know...going with you, I guess." The ghost answered, eyes ahead rather than on Kennedy. He had a tan scarf on, most likely from Toriel, which was slipping off. Kennedy blinked, but let out a small, shaky laugh. 

"You don' need to tag along with me. Go back and stay with Toriel. I'm sure she'd be happy to have ya' around now that I'm gone." She replied, stopping in her tracks as she smiled down at Napstablook, snow no longer crunching under her feet. The ghost kept going a few spaces ahead before stopping and turning back to Kennedy. ".....You're not gone....not to me. Toriel wanted me to follow you. She'll be alright...." He said, sincerity in his tone. He blew a white bubble, and it attached to a corner of his scarf. "Here, I don't actually need this. You can wear it." He said as the bubble floated over to Kennedy, with the scarf attached to it. Kennedy reached out and caught it just as the bubble popped. 

"......You really want ta' come with me? I'm tellin' ya, even if I like havin' you around, that lady back down the path could really use a friend." Kennedy's voice broke a little, and her eyes watered a bit, though she tried to convince herself it was just the cold air as she held the scarf in her hand. "...You're right. But I promised her..." Napstablook countered, a sad look to his eyes. "...She made ya' promise ta' come with me?" Kennedy asked, to which Napstablook confirmed the statement by nodding his head. Kennedy sighed, thinking about how kind and remarkably selfless Toriel was, watching the mist from her breath float into the cold air. 

"Well...as the one who taught ya' what promises are, I guess I can't exactly argue against it." She admitted, looking back down at Napstablook, who just returned her words with a blank stare. Kennedy walked up to him and grabbed his side, as if holding his hand, as she continued to walk with Napstablook in tow. "Let's get goin' then...and I'ma make you a promise right 'ere." She said as Napstablook floated back to her side, returning the hold as much as he could. Kennedy looked down at him, observing his curious eyes. "I promise...that I'll find some way to take you outta' 'ere with me. Back to the surface." She finished.

Napstablook's eyes widened even further. "W-what?" He asked, almost as though he wasn't sure she was telling the truth. Kennedy gave him a short smile. "Well, we can't have you breakin' that promise you made to Toriel, can we?" She explained. A warm feeling came through Napstablook, and he felt touched, like he had just received a compliment. This girl was willing to take him to the surface? To keep him with her? It felt like he should have done something more to earn this. 

Still, it warmed his soul to think of just how long he'd be with Kennedy, and how much his life would change from miserable to bright, as they continued walking down the snowy trail. And Napstablook could've sworn the snowflakes fell a little more gracefully, and looked a little more beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this chapter was certainly full of events! ^_^  
> I hope you enjoyed reading! Please leave a comment letting me know what you thought of the newest chapters (so far), and maybe pick out a favorite scene of yours! As always, thanks for reading! (^_−)−☆


	16. Down The Icy Road

As Kennedy and Napstablook continued down the snowy path, they came to a gate....or, what looked like a sad attempt at a gate, stretching over a large break in the ground. The hole seemed to drop further into the earth, and it's bottom wasn't visible. Over the break was a bridge without a rail, nailed together and set just so it wouldn't fall. The 'gate' was stretched sideways, from the very edge of the crater in the earth to the other side of the trail. It was kept up by four pillars of wood, two on the sides of the trail and two on the sides of the handmade bridge. "...What is it?" Napstablook asked, referring to the gate. "...Not sure. But, if it was meant ta' keep us out, it's not doin' a very good job." Kennedy answered. She stepped one foot onto the wood bridge leading over the hole and to the other side, to test it's stability. It seemed fine. 

"....Should we cross it?" Napstablook asked, looking a little unsure. He wasn't used to going on adventures. Kennedy smiled at him. "Don' see why not." She replied, and began crossing over the bridge, not letting go of Napstablook. Once they were to the other side, she let go of him, looking around the area. It was wider than before, with some sort of stand near the right side, next to some pine trees. There was an out-of-place battered blue and purple lamp a few feet away from the stand. Napstablook took a minute to observe the battered lamp, as Kennedy decided to observe the stand, to get a better idea of what it was. It didn't seem like much, more like a guard's station if anything, but there were different condiment bottles inside. 

"A...A hot dog stand?" She thought aloud, as the ketchup, relish, and mustard certainly seemed to be things that would only be in a hotdog station. "What?" Napstablook asked. "I-I think it's a hotdog stand." Kennedy replied, "But there ain't anybody 'ere." Napstablook floated over to her, looking around the station as well. "....Maybe they're up ahead?" He suggested. Kennedy nodded. "Yeah..." Her heart started to feel heavy again as her thoughts turned to what happened with Toriel. She shook her head, snapping herself into a more optimistic train of thought. Napstablook didn't need her acting like a sad sap, especially when she seemed to be the only thing keeping him from falling back into his depressing state. She smiled at him. "Well, how about we do some explorin'? New place, an' all! Let's get a move on!" She said, putting a little pip in her step as she walked. 

Napstablook smiled a small smile. How was she always so happy? It was refreshing to see someone like her, after all his years of being alone, or just outright ignored. He was reminded of the scene between him and Toriel, just before he left, after Kennedy was already gone. She had stumbled back inside her home, up from what Napstablook assumed was the basement. Her eyes had been brimming with tears, and she seemed fazed by something, hand on her face as she tried to keep herself from crying any more than she already had. 

*Flashback* 

Toriel steadied herself, holding herself up by the bookcase as tears escaped her eyes, and she tried to muffle her sobs. Napstablook just happened to be there at the time, and saw Toriel as he was floating by. "......Toriel?...." He said as the woman sobbed. Toriel's eyes opened and she gave a small gasp, realizing with a start that someone was in the room. "Oh...Napstablook, dear..." She said, smiling at the monotone ghost as she wiped her eyes. "...What happened? And, do you know where Kennedy went? I was looking for her...." The ghost replied, tilting his head, eyes showing concern for Toriel. The mention of Kennedy only made Toriel's smile fade, and her eyes immediately brimmed with tears once again. 

Napstablook's eyes widened. "Did....did something happen with Kennedy?" He asked, voice not showing any emotion, though he was worried. Toriel stayed silent for a moment. "...She left...she needs to find her way out of this place, you see. Though I...tried to keep her here. I am..." Toriel nearly sobbed, but kept the tears back long enough to finish her sentence, "....still not proud of sending her away. She will undoubtably run into troubles. I hope she is not hurt..." She put a hand on her forehead, a few tears running down her face, as she tried to clear her mind from the events that just took place. "......Does she want to be alone?" Napstablook asked. He had a feeling that his time with the happy human girl would not last..... 

Toriel looked up at him. "Oh, no, dear. I'm sure she does not want to be without you." She said, wiping her tears once again from her fur. ".....But, I can't follow her. She.....she's going home, right?" Napstablook answered with his monotone voice, hints of sadness and familiar depression in his tone. Toriel stared for a moment, before smiling a small smile and walking forward, lowering herself to Napstablook's hight. "Napstablook...I have a feeling she would love to have you on her trip. She has been on her own for a while, before she met you and I...." She said. Napstablook gave her a blank stare, listening to her words with the weight of his own thoughts. Toriel sighed and stood, still smiling at him. "Stay here." She said, walking away, towards her room. 

Napstablook did as he was told and stayed in place, until Toriel came back a minute later. Before Napstablook could react, a tan scarf was wrapped around him as Toriel leaned down to his eye level once again. "Go with her, Napstablook. I cannot do much for her besides this...so please, follow her. You have lived a life in the Ruins for so long, barely interacting with anyone at all. I know you've seen the light in her eyes and the optimism in her voice. I...I just don't want that light to fade." She explained, securing the scarf around the ghost as she spoke. Napstablook's eyes lowered with something close to guilt, knowing how the world outside could very well crush Kennedy's soul. He couldn't even imagine her without her happy personality. 

Toriel held Napstablook's side, where his shoulders would be, in a kind gesture. "Napstablook, please follow her. Be her friend, be kind to her, and protect her. Promise me...promise me that you'll be by her side..." She said, tears pricking her eyes. Napstablook was left speechless, feeling the weight of a promise coming down on him. If he went with Kennedy...his life would definitely go through dramatic changes. He would certainly like to go with her, but he had a lurking feeling it would just make everything worse. And, if he did live up to his promise, it wouldn't matter when the time came for her to leave. He would just grow more attached to her, and it would make their farewell all the more solemn. 

But despite that.....despite him knowing that he wouldn't be with her forever, the knowledge that she'd eventually leave, that he may make her uncomfortable with his fairly opposite personality and tendency to be depressing.... "I.....alright. I promise." He said, though he didn't know exactly why, since his mind was screaming for him to say she would better off without him. Toriel gave him a large smile, letting the tears slip from her eyes as she embraced Napstablook in a hug. "Thank you.....I am sure you will be a good friend to her, Napstablook. I wish you good luck." 

*Flashback End*

"Napsta? Napstablook?" Kennedy said, waving a hand in front of the ghost's face. "Hmm?" Napstablook snapped out of his thoughts, relizing that they were at a fork in the snowy path. They were standing next to a sign and a large box, and Kennedy was most likely asking him to read the sign. "Oh..uh, 'This is a box. You can put an item inside or take an item out. The same box will appear later, so don't worry about coming back. Sincerely, a box lover.' ..." He read. "Okay...weird. Is it a magic box or somethin'? It's not for just anyone to use, right?" Kennedy said, stooping down. She looked at the box, and without a second opinion, opened it. Inside was a few pieces of candy wrapped in brightly colored wrappers, and a....boxing glove? Was it a boxing glove? It looked a little to small to be one, but it was a though-looking glove none the less. It was made of pink leather, and looked pretty worn down. 

Kennedy closed the box, not wanting to steal anything, since it clearly belonged to someone. "Who would leave their stuff out 'ere like this?" She thought aloud, standing upright. "I'm not sure...maybe the same person who runs the hotdog stand?" He suggested. "Ha! Probably. Or maybe it's just somethin' like a lost an' found." Kennedy agreed. She turned back to Napstablook. "So, which way should we go?" She asked, gesturing towards the fork in the path. Napstablook looked down at both snow-plowed roads, then shook his head. "I'm...uh...not sure. Maybe....to the left?" He answered. Kennedy smiled. "A'right! To the lef' it is!" She agreed, setting off down the path to her left. "Oh! Wait up." Napstablook said, quickly catching up with her, and continuing down the path at her pace. 

He saw Kennedy slow down a little and sniff the air with an unsure face, as if she smelled something strange. "What is it?" Napstablook asked. "Nah, it jus' smells like..." Kennedy paused as they came to the end of the path, "...salt water." In front of them was a large blue lake, with small waves washing up against the rock-driven path the lake followed. ".........." Kennedy said nothing as she stared at the water. ".....Um....Kennedy?" Napstablook asked, getting a little concerned. "Hmm? Oh! Sorry. It's just....been a while since I've seen an actual salt-water riva'." She explained, choosing not to tell him of the memory of the lake she saw on Uppertale Trail. She figured this water might have come from it....wait...a second. 

Kennedy looked up. Even though there was some sort of day light, no sun or sky was visible. Instead, it was a very large cave ceiling. ".....Huh." She mummered, and Napstablook followed her gaze upwards, seeing the roof of the Underground. "....What? I don't see anything..." He said, raising a non-existent eyebrow that looked more like a crease in a bed sheet. "...'M jus'...wonderin' how far that cielin' actually goes...and why it's there." Kennedy answered, looking back down at the ghost beside her. "...What do you mean? Of course the cielings' there...oh....I almost forgot..." Napstablook answered, lowering his eyes slightly. They both knew he was referring to Kennedy having lived on the surface. 

Rather than continue on the subject, Kennedy chose to look around a bit, walking over to a red fishing rod. She made a small 'hmm' sound as she observed it, noticing it was dug into the ground and held there with some sort of adhesive. She also noticed it was bent over, signaling that it caught something, fishing line waving slightly. "...Should we...reel it in?" Napstablook asked as he came to a halt beside Kennedy. Kennedy smiled at him once again. "Why not? 'M sure whoever's here wouldn't mind us catchin' their fish." She replied. She reached forward and reeled the line in, finding it surprisingly light and wondering if it had actually caught anything at all. On the end of the hook was the photo of a strange monster, holding up a sign that said 'Call Me! Here's my number!' On it, with his phone number underneath. 

Kennedy and Napstablook exchanged looks for a moment, before laughing and dropping the reel. Turns out, the curve in the fishing rod was just a bend the owner had created. After a few minutes of discussing wether to follow the river or to go back and check the other path, they decided to head back, since the trees blocked most of the way out via river. They passed the sign and box, Napstablook once again admiring Kennedy's optimistic qualities. They continued down the other path, walking ahead, passing beautiful snowy pine trees on their way. Kennedy found it strange that all the snow around them even existed, since it was obviously not snowing. 'Maybe...it's 'magic' or somethin'. Already seen what magic attacks 'r like...maybe there's a diff'rent kind keepin' this snow 'ere?' She thought. 

Then, she heard a loud rusting coming from the trees. A strange little monster strutted into view, looking proud, holding his head high as he presented a strange hat. It was a cap made of ice, and was certainly a sight to look at, as it was about the size of the strange snow monster himself. The glittering ice reflected light into Kennedy's eyes, and she held up her arm instinctively to block the rays. She didn't even know where the supposed 'sunlight' was coming from, but the stylish hat of ice was not doing a great job of deflecting it. "Hey! Don't ignore me!" The little monster squealed. "Yikes!" Kennedy shrieked, jumping out of the way as a short pillar rose from the ground, shooting a block of ice into the air, sharpened at the end with icicles. The block came falling down beside her, and another pillar soon rose and followed suit, until three of them were present. 

"Woah!" Kennedy jumped out of the way of all the ice blocks, which turned to snow as they hit the ground. Napstablook was by her side in an instant, glaring at the monster. The monster backed away slightly, intimated by the stare, which looked pretty creepy to him. "Grr...hmf!" The monster growled, then made an annoyed sound and stomped away like a mad little girl. Kennedy looked over at Napstablook, who looked back at her. "Are you alright?" The ghost asked. "...Yeah, 'm fine. Thanks!" She replied, smiling at Napstablook. He smiled back, feeling as though it was the biggest smile he had shown in months. Kennedy adjusted her bag straps, as her pack was moved a little during her dodges, and stood straight. 

The memory of the training dummy in the ruins popped into her mind, and she remembered Toriel saying things would attack her because she was human. 'This'll be a normal occurrence, huh? Ugh. I've had enough of this in the past year.' She thought, looking around the snowy path once again. She noticed a large cardboard box further down the trail, and walked over to investigate it, Napstablook following suit as his eyes caught the object. There was a smaller cardboard piece hammered into the front of the box with lots of foreign writing on it. Kennedy smiled at Napstablook. "Could ya' read it for me, please?" She asked politely. "...S-sure..." The ghost answered, looking over the narration on the box. 

"You observe the well-crafted sentry station. Who could have built this, you ponder... I bet it was that very famous royal guardsman! Note: Not yet a very famous royal guardsman." He read. Kennedy blinked, face contorting into something close to discomfort. "A'right...that's a little....weird..." She commented. "It's all capitalized too..." Napstablook added. Kennedy took a step back, letting out a short 'ok' and turning on her heel, almost as if she never even saw the 'sentry station'. Napstablook felt a strange feeling of sudden happiness as he observed Kennedy's actions, letting out a small sound. He took a moment to realize what that sound was. He stayed there for a moment, feeling as though the whole universe was spinning around him. He...did he actually just laugh? Now that he thought of it, Kennedy had made him laugh before, too. 

"Napsta? What's the hold up?" Kennedy called, as she was already continuing down the trail. "...Oh! Right..." Napstablook muttered, following his companion down the icy road.


	17. Decent to the Underground

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry that I haven't been updating, but I'm back on track with this site and will be updating new chapters every Saturday once again. This chapter is going back to the parent's point of view (Imani and Andre), and what's happening to them while Kennedy is underground. It is a bit sad, but I hope you enjoy it none the less! :-)

The ramp down into the trail was fully built, now almost completely safe to walk on. Well, as safe as it could get, anyway. Giovanni and his men had been searching around the area for about thirty minutes, when Imani and Andre pulled up in their car, stopping a few feet in front of the Uppertale Trail. Imani was the first to get out, and catching sight of Giovanni at the bottom of the canyon, along with the rest of the search team. Andre followed her down the ramp, cautiously, very aware of the creaking and slight unsteadiness of it. When they got to the bottom, Giovanni walked towards them. "Ah. Ms. 'Arris." He said in his Italian accent, giving a sympathetic look, "And 'usband, I presume?" "Jus' Imani is fine. This is my husband, Andre. He met with one of your bosses when we went ta' hire you." Imani replied, stepping to the side slightly so Andre could stand beside her. 

"I see. Is nice to meet you, Andre." Giovanni replied, shaking the man's hand. "Thanks." Andre said, trying to muster up a casual tone, smiling slightly at Giovanni. Said Italian man took a step back. "I would like you to fol-low me." He said, and the couple did as they were told, walking behind him as he led them away from the ramp. He led them over to the rock covered in vines, pulling them back in a certain place, revealing the mouth of a cave that would otherwise be invisible. Giovani kept the vines open for them as Imani and Andre walked inside, cautiously. As soon as they were inside, he trailed out in front of them, in between the two pieces he wanted to show them. "Well...we found these things ere. We 'aven't moved them." He said, crouching down to a halved purple coconut shell beside a stream. 

"We do not know why it is colored this way, but....there is clear evidence that this was done with brute force. 'D inside has been scraped out, and it looks like it was done with a small blade." Giovanni explained. Imani's breath caught in her throat. "...W...what?" Andre asked, feeling almost as though he was in shock. Giovanni made a mournful face. ".....it looks as though she was down here for a lit-tle while...." His voice was quiet. Andre felt his eyes well up with tears, and Imani was absolutely shocked. It was not long, though, before her tears fell, and she covered her mouth as she sobbed. "Oh my god!..." She said, muffled by her hand and tears as she leaned into Andre, who also began to cry as soon as Imani touched him. 

Giovanni hung his head in sympathy as the couple cried, a whole five minutes passing before someone came in to check on them. "Eh...Boss?" Maleek asked, his Italian accent a little lighter than Giovanni's, quieting his voice as he caught sight of the couple. "Yes? What is it, Maleek?" Giovanni asked, a sad tone to his voice. "We...will be continuing to search down 'd road, sir." Maleek explained, knowing the couple wanted to join the search crew. "....Ah. Alright." Giovanni answered, and Maleek turned and walked away. Giovanni turned to the couple, who had just barely regained their composure. "Ms. Harris....you do not have to search if you do not want to any longer." He offered, but Imani shook her head. 

"No, no...*sniff* It's a'right. I-uh....it's fine." She said, taking a few quick, deep breaths, then turning around and leaving the cave. Andre and Giovanni exchanged glances before also stepping out, seeing the men from the search team walking around outside. As some of them caught sight of the Harris couple, they stopped what they were doing to turn to Giovanni. Giovanni nodded to Simone, who was the one leading the search team. Giovanni himself could not go down the trail with them, as he was required to stay in reach of the ramp with a few other men, just in case something went wrong again. At the signal, Simone turned and shouted to the men wondering or searching around the clearing, and they all walked towards him, grouping together. After briefly explaining that they would be heading further down the trail, Simone turned to the couple behind him. 

"This iz' 'd Harris couple. 'Zey will be accompanying us." He informed, and the group of eight offered sympathetic looks. Imani tried to ignore their faces, and Andre returned them with an apologetic-looking smile. "Alright. Off you go." Giovanni said to Simone, to witch he nodded, and the team set off down the trail with Imani and Andre in the mix. They walked down the rock-formed pathway, dirt crunching under their feet. The passage wasn't large, nor was it narrow. Two men- maybe three- could walk side by side without a problem. Any more, however, and one of them would be driven up the wall. Literally. As the group continued walking, looking for little hints or scattered pieces to the remains (or at least evidence Kennedy had gone this way prior to her death), the weeds and little flowers started to slightly grow in number. 

Of course, Imani and Andre were much too distressed to notice little things like that, and didn't spot the cardboard box on the side of the trail until someone else pointed it out. Simone reached down and opened the box, carefully pulling out one of the fabrics inside. As he stood, it was made visible to everyone that the fabric was a purple and white tunic, with a strange symbol on the front. It was torn and tattered in many places. "...Look familiar at all?" Simone asked. Imani shook her head as Andre answered 'No, not at all'. Simone frowned, dropping the tunic back into the cardboard box, which seemed to be filled with identical clothing. He explained to the others that they'd check out the box on the way back with some short words, and then they continued on, past the turn in the trail. 

As Imani passed the turn, she noticed something about it felt strange. It was like a sudden feeling of sincerity, and the things around them seemed to be a little brighter, even though the sun was aimed more towards the top of the rocks rather than at the trail, since it was early in the morning. The vines on the rocks seemed to increase in number, and the leaves attached to them were a little more vibrant in green color. The rocks themselves were more jagged, and Imani went out of her way to walk more towards the center of the trail, as to not get hit by a piece of outstretched wall. Andre was right beside her, but was instead looking out at the rock walls with a far-away look in his eye. 

The curves and obvious climbing paths in the rock reminded him of how he used to climb with Kennedy, and the nostalgia was clear on his face. He remembered Kennedy's first hike, and how she said it was exhausting and she would never do it again. But, after all, they did end up hiking again, and even climbing shortly after. Kennedy started looking forward to the trip, and had even brought her new camera along ever since her birthday. Andre remembered her smile, and the way she laughed when rocks resembled funny things. He remembered how accomplished she would seem when they reached the top of a trail or mountain. He hadn't even noticed his eyes well up with tears, but his wife and some of the search team had. Imani grabbed his hand as an act of comfort, and though she herself was also in pain, she managed to muster a short smile. Andre could tell her smile was forced, but it had been the closest he had seen to genuine in a while. 

He squeezed her hand slightly, unable to return the smile at the moment, but trying to return the comfort Imani was giving. Both of their hearts felt heavy and wounded, casting a sad and painful aura, which seemed to gravitate to the other members of the search team. They were already feeling sympathy for the couple, but seeing them trying to keep their bounds like that just made it all the worse. Simone came up and put a hand on Andre's right shoulder, causing Andre to turn to him. Simone gave him a look, one that obviously meant 'are you alright?'. "I'm fine." Andre assured as Simone pulled his hand away. Simone stayed silent for another few moments, giving him an unsure look, before walking back towards the front to check with Stephon, another man from the group. 

Around them, Simone noticed as he walked, different plants were growing in a much larger variety than before. He didn't pay too much attention to the small change in scenery, but Imani, however, seemed to notice. Her eyes caught a small line of rose bushes. She remembered how Kennedy used to water the roses in a park down the road, since there was only one bush of them growing at the end of their street, next to a petunia bush. She didn't really like roses, but for some reason, she always went back to water that rose bush every week. Imani never understood why. Seeing the roses here also reminded her of the time Kennedy took a bouquet of roses home on Imani's 35th birthday. 

When she had asked where they came from, Kennedy said they came from her heart in a joking manner. Imani wasn't even thinking of the rose bush at the time, since she was almost certain most of the roses died and Kennedy stopped taking care of it. Imani put a hand over her mouth as she realized the roses must have come from the rose bush Kennedy had been managing, since she told her not to spend money on her. How had she not seen that in the past? What else had she not seen three years ago? Was her daughter really that humble and kind? Imani's eyes started to tear up again.

*One Hour Later*

The rocks were definitely a different shade now, more a dark gray, and the flowers seemed to grow separately rather than in bushes. Imani was starting to get tired, having not had much in the way of physical fitness in the past year. Andre was also getting tired, some sweat running down his forehead as the sun started rising higher. Neither of them mentioned their state, however, as the air started to get slightly colder. The team started walking on dead leaves, which was rather peculiar, since it was actually the middle of January. The red and orange leaves seemed out of place, but they were quite clearly falling from the trees atop the rock walls. None of the people walking down the trail had seen trees like this, but decided that now wasn't the time to be sightseeing. 

The further they went, the less leaves there were, and yellow flowers dotted around the sides of the path. Eventually, the trail ended, and they were out in another clearing. Imani instantly started looking around the area, as it was much more open, and she had a lurking feeling she would find something of Kennedy's here. The dirt in the clearing was strange and dark, rich, yet not the proper color for rich soil. A cave ceiling was present over the clearing, letting in light with small cracks around the middle, and a large hole in the top, shining down on a patch of bright yellow flowers surrounded by an oval of healthy grass. The rest of the team stepped inside, an were taken back by the sudden change. 

Imani and Andre's eyes rested on the bed of flowers, along with a few others who noticed something off about them. "What...?...Are you seeing this, Simone?" coworker Piero asked, stepping forward and towards the flowers. "Yes... I don't know why they are like that!" Simone answered, walking along with the others to see the flowers up close. They were huge, much bigger than normal flowers, and almost identical, with no signs of imperfections. Even the most beautiful bush of flowers has it's differences, but this group has some flowers that were identical to the others, almost as if it were 'copied and pasted' on a computer. It was a very strange, almost unbelievable sight. Imani was marveling at them for a moment as well, until she heard a loud 'clack' coming from the path going further into the cave. 

Her head spun towards the sound, along with a few others. Andre noticed. "What 's it?" He asked, raising a brow. "Didn't you hear that?" Imani replied, looking deeper into the darkness of the cave trail. "I 'eard it." Piero commented, making some of the other men nod and mummer in agreement. "...Come on, then." Simone said, dragging his attention away from the giant flowers to focus on the noise. They began to travel down the dark path, just barely lit by the cracks in the ceiling. As they walked, the end of the path became clear. It was a dead end from what was visible, until Simone lead the group to the end. All eyes fell on the large doorway on the left side of the cave. Three unstable steps led up to the opening, and large pillars to either side held up some sort of symbol engraved into the dark rock. 

"Doubt she would 'ave gone in there..." One of the men commented, sounding a little unsure of the next dark cave. "...Really...I think a child would be curious enough to wonder..." Simone replied, stepping cautiously up the three small steps, jumping to the side as one of the corners crumbled off, breaking into smaller pieces as it hit the floor. He quickly regained his stance, walking further into the doorway, instantly catching sight of a ray of light further on. "...Alright, then." Piero said, following Simone's tracks, followed by the others. "Careful, miss 'Arris." Stephono said as Imani made her way up the unstable stairs, nearly stepping on a crumbling edge. She thanked him, walking closer to Andre as they entered the next cave through the doorway. 

Before long, they came to a ray of light, shining down on a patch of grass. Simone was about to walk over it, stepping over the patch of grass, when he felt something beneath his foot. "Wha-!" He exclaimed, jumping backwards, towards his companions. A big, bright yellow flower popped up out of the ground. The flower had a friendly smile and two large eyes, almost making it appear innocent, but it was so disturbing to see it anyway that it actually rose a few screams. Most every one, however, was shocked into silence. "Howdy!" The flower said to the, now, closest person, who happened to be Imani. Imani gave a small shriek and instantly lashed out at the flower, grabbing a small stick off of the ground and swinging it at Flowey in one quick movement. 

"Woah!" The flower squeaked, but dodged it instantly, almost as if by second nature. Sure enough, to him, it was very much a habit to dodge these types of attacks now, thanks to a certain girl. The image of Kennedy popped into his mind, and as Imani swung again, he noticed it was very similar to Kennedy's movements. "...Would you- woah!- happen to be related to Kennedy-eek!" He said, in between dodges. Imani halted her fear-induced attacks. "...K-Kennedy?...." She said. The whole search team seemed to be a little more interested and eased now, seeing as the flower didn't seem as threatening any more, since he had no means of attacking, and just mentioned the person they were looking for the remains of. Andre's eyebrows raised, still shocked by the flower, but taking Imani's arm as if to prevent her from swinging the small, affectiveless weapon again. 

"...Y-you know 'er?" He asked, as an inexplainable feeling of hope showed in his eyes. "....Yes...I know her. In fact...I know where she is right now." The Flower said, seeming a little off-put, as if he was nearly shocked into silence himself. Imani noticed this, and figured it was because she just attacked him, when in reality that was not the case. "S-She's alive?!" Imani said. Whatever this flower thing was, it knew about her daughter, putting her to ease slightly. "...Yes. Are you her...parents?" The flower asked, eyes narrowing. Imani got a strange vibe from the flower. "Yes...yes, we are!" Andre answered. Silence filled the air as the flower stood still, before letting out a horrifying cackle that made everyone's eyes go wide. 

"Her parents?! Ha! Sorry, you guys...you can't just come for her like this! That's not how the story goes! Not on my watch!" He said, eyes turning dark and grin turning to something sharp and terrible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger! :-P  
> Thanks for reading!


	18. Blue Isn't Always Sadness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter goes back to Kennedy and Napstablook on their journey onwards from the Ruins! Don't worry, the next chapter goes back to the parents so you can find out what happens. :-P  
> Anyways, thanks for reading! :-)

"Absolutely no moving." Napstablook read the sign beside another station. The station itself had what looked to be a wooden dog head tacked to the front, an unreadable poster on the backboard, and a reception bell. Kennedy stared at it for a moment, before raising an eyebrow. "No movin'? This stand ain't makin' any sense." She said, walking forward as if to get into an argument with the person at the desk (though there was no one visibly there). Napstablook sped in front of her, turning to her and forcing her to a halt as he said 'stop!'. Then, a large dog rose from beneath the counter. He had a strangely colored bone in his mouth, and a pink shirt or apron on. His ears were spotted black, but the rest of his fur that was visible was white. 

"Did something move? Was it my imagination?" He said in a slight 'yip'ing voice, eyes darting around the area at a fast pace. "I can only see moving things. If something WAS moving.... For example, a human..." He said, eyes still darting to and fro. 'Oddly specific.' Kennedy thought, snark tone to her thoughts. "I'll make sure it NEVER moves again!" The dog continued. Both Napstablook and Kennedy felt a sweatdrop run down their foreheads as the dog jumped out from behind the stand, holding two rather long-bladed knifes. He didn't seem to be able to see the two, though he was only a few feet from them. "Don't...move..." Napstablook whispered, to which Kennedy said nothing, but understood him. The dog, now visibly wearing a pink and brown dog t-shirt and tan dalmatian-styled baggy pants, didn't seem to be able to find anything. 

"Will it move this time?" He said to himself, scanning over the area again, and Kennedy noticed a giant, knife-shaped blue magic pass over the area beside them, almost causing her to gasp. "Hmm..." The dog hummed, and cast another magic attack, coming right towards the two. "Wait! Just don't-" Napstablook said in a hushed whisper, but Kennedy's instincts already had her moving out of the way as the blade came down on them, passing right through a still Napstablook. "Moved! Moved! It moved! Moved! Moved!" The dog shouted in a barking manner, head swinging back and forth and eyes open wide. "Uh oh.." Kennedy muttered, backing up a little. "WHERE'S THAT COMING FROM?!" The dog yelped, another attack coming down around that area, passing through Napstablook. Kennedy's eyes widened. 

"Wha- How did..." She started, but the dog started going crazy behind her at the sound. Kennedy watched him spastically wave his head around, and felt a little bad for him. "Uh...hey, it's only me. It's alright...I...uh...I ain't a threat." She tried to explain, but the dog just continued his shaking and barking out words. Kennedy tried talking again, but the dog just wouldn't listen. Frowning, she reached out a hand to touch the dog's shoulder, since he was actually a little taller than herself. "Kennedy!" Napstablook called, moving forwards as Kennedy moved her hand, fearing the worst. As soon as Kennedy's hand made contact with Doggo, he pulled away. "Pet! Pet! Pet! I've been pet!" He yelled. He dove behind his stand, eyes darting around as he tried to see the intruder from a safe distance. 

Kennedy raised a brow. "Uh...sir? It...was jus-" She started, but was interrupted. "S-s-s-something pet me.... Something that...m-m-moved strangely..." The dog said to himself, "I'm gonna need some dog treats for this!!!" And with that, Doggo dove back under his stand. ".....uh...." Kennedy started as Napstablook breathed a sigh of relief. They turned to each other. "Do ya'....think we should help 'im?" Kennedy asked. "He'll be fine, he was just guarding the post." The ghost answered, shrugging what seemed to be a shoulder in the other direction: a gesture to continue moving. Kennedy glanced back at the dog stand, hearing the sound of a plastic container opening (most likely the dog treats), before walking away with Napstablook, passing a few burnt dog treats beside the trail. "Wait...so he was...a 'guard dog'?" She joked. Napstablook raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? I...guess so. Was that a joke? I don't get it." Napstablook answered. 

"Ya' know, like an actual 'guard d'-...oh, wait, maybe that's just a human thing..." Kennedy second-guessed her pun, but the ghost just gave a small smile, continuing onwards. As they walked, they came to the end of the path, which stopped in front of a large, frozen-over lake, with a sign in the middle of it. "Hmm..." Kennedy looked over the ice, before lightly stepping on it to see how slippery it was. "Careful..." Napstablook advised, watching as Kennedy stepped her foot on the ice. "W-wwwwooooahhh!" Kennedy yelped as she slid forwards on the ice, still slipping even after she fell over, twirling and spinning until she slipped right off the ice and into the snow behind it. "...Pft." Napstablook laughed a little, but he barely even noticed it, much less noted it as something unusual. 

"Are you alright?" He asked, easily floating over a few paces of ice, stopping at the sign in the middle. "Yeah...'m fine." Kennedy said, still a little shocked and a bit embarrassed. She laughed it off, lifting her hands out of the freezing snow as she asked Napstablook to read the sign beside him. Napstablook turned to the sign. "North: Ice, South: Ice, West: Ice, East: Snowdin Town....and ice." He read. Kennedy stood up, brushing the cold snow off her pants. "Snowdin Town? Well, that's somewhere, right?" She said, making sure the coconut still attached to her bag wasn't broken during her fall. It wasn't, thank goodness, though she doubted she'd need the remaining water if they were heading to civilization. "...Yeah." Napstablook replied, floating over to Kennedy. 

She smiled at him once again, warming his heart. "Well, let's get a move on, then!" She said enthusiastically, and they continued down the pathway, observing the pine trees, until they heard another rustling in the forest. Kennedy's first thought was that it could be the little monster from earlier, but to her surprise, it was another dog. A dog with a very light blond coat, nearly white, dressed in brown leather armor, equipped with a long sword and a huge shield. "What..." Kennedy trailed off as the dog barked a small bark, tongue hanging from it's mouth. "Aw! Can ya' not talk? You're jus' a puppy!" Kennedy cooed, lifting her hand to pet the dog. She barely even lifted her hand and the dog got excited, lifting his head higher, even though he was nearly exactly Kennedy's height of 5'6. 

The dog barked excitedly, and it sounded adorable to both Kennedy and Napstablook. Kennedy laughed a little, lightly petting the dog. Napstablook was still a bit cautious, but the Lesser Dog seemed harmless enough. Kennedy stepped back, still smiling at the dog, watching him drop his shield. Once the shield dropped, the sword did as well, and the Lesser Dog moved his paws to his pockets. He pulled out a dog tag attached to a necklace chain, holding it out to Kennedy while still on two feet. "Oh...Uh...'s that for me?" Kennedy asked, reaching for the necklace as Lesser Dog nodded his head excitedly, letting out a loud, playful yip. Kennedy observed the cold silver metal, turning it over to see foreign writing. Though she couldn't read it, she smiled anyway, looking back up at the armored canine. 

"Thanks! But...ah...you sure it's a'right ta' keep it? I don' wanna take it from you..." She said, to which the Lesser Dog just gave a few happy barks. And with that, he picked up his shield and sword, moving back to the trees. "Uh! Th-Thanks again!" Kennedy called, not quite knowing why the dog tag had been given to her, but appreciating the thought. She stuffed it into her jacket pocket, looking to Napstablook. "Guess not all fights have ta' be attackin' and defendin'." She commented. Napstablook seemed to be giving her a blank stare, though it was a little hard to tell. "...Yeah, you're right. That was a little strange, but....at least he didn't attack you." The ghost replied, following Kennedy as she started walking again. 

She felt over the silver metal in her pocket as they walked, coming to a large patch of ground that had been plowed from snow. There were faded bootprints in the snow, seeming to go in a very specific way. "...Uh oh. Just go through the maze walls, and don't touch the electricity." Napstablook said. Kennedy widened her eyes. "What?" She asked. Napstablook looked up at her. "You....can't see them?" He asked. "See what?" Kennedy raised a brow as she spoke, looking back out to the blank spot of ground. "...It looks like some sort of electricity maze. Someone must have already made it through....follow me, I'll just go by the prints in the snow." The ghost answered, entering the maze yellow, zapping maze, apparently only visible to himself. 

Kennedy followed Napstablook, curious to know what the rest of the ground was, but not daring to walk out and see if Napstablook was in potential danger due to her choices. The reached the other side of the maze with no casualties, much to Napstablook's relief, as he was worried Kennedy would accidentally brush up against the walls of electricity and get shocked. "Why would anyone set up a maze?" Kennedy thought aloud, to which Napstablook shrugged. As they walked on, they came to a much clearer patch of snowy ground, the number of trees dying down, though there was no longer a path. "I don't understand why these aren't selling...it's the perfect weather for something cold." A male voice said, and Kennedy looked to her left to see a monster leaning against a food cart. 

He had on a red and yellow uniform, the same color as the umbrella on his cart, without any shoes or gloves. He didn't seem to need more clothing, anyway, as he was covered head to toe in blue fur, including his up-do hair style and his floppy ears. Kennedy walked over to him, footsteps making the monster open one eye. "OH!!! A CUSTOMER!!!" He said ecstatically, smiling at Kennedy and the ghost. "Hello! Would you like some Nice cream?" He asked, "It's the frozen treat that warms your heart!" Napstablook read the small paper sign on the stand, reading '73g'. The monster noticed, and smiled at the ghost. "Now just 15 gold!" He added. "Oh...I-uh...don' think I have-" Kennedy started, but was cut off by Napstablook. "Sure. I'll buy it for her." He said. He blew a bubble, and it floated over to the stand, popping as it hit the metal. The gold pieces inside clacked and clattered as they hit the stand. 

The monster gave a bright smile, reaching into his cart and pulling out an ice cream bar, handing it to Kennedy. "Here you go! Have a super-duper day!" He said. Kennedy smiled back, walking over to Napstablook, who had already floated over a wooden plank, suspended over a break in the ground. "Napsta! Ya' didn't have to do that. Thanks!" She said. Napstablook smiled at her. "It's better if you have more things to eat." He explained. "Hah. Whatever ya' say, Napsta. Hey, what's got you in a rush? You left the stand pretty quick." Kennedy replied. "Oh...I thought I heard something." The ghost said, looking over at a large snow ball. His eyes widened. "Hey...I remember playing with one of these in school..." He said, floating over to the snow ball. 

He kicked it slightly, and it rolled away, trailing small pieces of snow as it glided on the clear ground. "Cool! I never even thought about kickin' snow balls!" Kennedy said, running over to the other side of the large patch of clear ground. With little effort, she kicked the snow ball back to Napstablook. Napstablook stopped it with the corner of his body, almost like a foot, looking back at Kennedy and feeling nostalgic. "Come on! Kick it back!" Kennedy said, smiling. Napstablook stayed still for a moment, before kicking the ball back, with more force this time. It bounced off Kennedy's side and to the center of the clearing. Kennedy laughed and ran after it, kicking it back to Napstablook. It went past him, into a smaller section of clear ground that looked something like the shape of a soccer net. 

"Goal!" Kennedy said, remembering how she played soccer on her school's field with her friends a few years ago. "Oh...uh...what's a 'goal'?" Napstablook asked. "Ya' know, like a soccer goal." Kennedy said, looking at the snow now trailed across the clearing. "...You...don' know what soccer is, do ya?" She questioned at Napstablook's blank stare. The ghost shook his head. Kennedy laughed a bit, walking back up to him. "How 'bout I teach ya? It's lotsa' fun once ya know the rules!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it ends a little abruptly, but I hope you still enjoyed it! :-P


	19. Made It Out Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to Imani and Andre, with the heartless killer flower. Enjoy! :-P

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Warning!*  
> This chapter does contain some violence, injury, and a bit of blood. Just putting that out there.  
> Thanks for reading!

The yellow flower summoned vines and weeds from the ground, propelling him further from the ground and sprouting around him. Screams rose from the search team, and they tried to run off, but different vines wrapped themselves around the exit, rendering it useless. "Hahaha!" The flower cackled, sweeping several men off their feet with something like a makeshift arm. The men were flung outwards, and the terrifying 'bang' that followed afterwards singled that they had been thrown into the cave wall. "Stephono!" Simone shouted, as his comrade was also thrown towards a different wall, along with a few others. The only ones left standing were Simone, Imani, Andre, and Calvino. Andre quickly grabbed Imani's wrist and attempted to run further from the Flower, but Flowey sent a vine after them that sent the couple flying.

Imani smacked into the cold cave wall, a wave of shock moving down her spine as she slipped to the ground, Andre landing a few feet away from her. As Imani fell, her hand touched something soft. Looking to the side, barely able to move her neck, noticed a yellow bandanna at the foot of the cave wall. She stared at it for a moment, then slowly lifted it with one hand. Flowey cackled as she felt it in her hands, quickly realizing it was most likely Kennedy's. Imani saw the bloodstains on it, and her breath hitched. Flowey shoved Andre out of the way as he tried to stand from his place on the ground, knocking the wind out of him as he hit the vines covering the exit. Flowey smiled evilly at Imani, who was looking up at him with tears in her eyes and horrifying realization on her face. 

"You-y..." Imani could barely speak, spine and neck quaking with pain as she did. She saw the unconscious men behind Flowey, two of which awoke with a start. The few who were still up rushed towards Flowey, in an effort to save Imani and the others. Simone was one of those men, taking a pointed hook he used for scraping unwanted things from bones and jamming it straight into the flower's side. "Aagh!" Flowey made a sound of pain, turning the other way, instantly summoning white bullets and throwing them around the men as they struggled to dodge them. Even as they moved, Flowey was too fast for them, and the bullets twirled and crashed into their limbs. Simone felt as though he would cough blood as he was hit in the stomach by a spinning bullet, which burst into white powder. 

As Flowey was distracted, Imani tried to get up, or at least move herself further away. She soon found it was impossible, and started to freak out as she realized she was mostly paralyzed. Her eyes went even wider as Flowey turned back to her, the two large makeshift hands reaching for her. Looking past him, she saw that the rest of the men were out cold, dusted with white ash. She stared into Flowey's eyes in horror as she was lifted from the ground, completely limp and almost entirely unable to move. Flowey laughed a few short chuckles, squeezing Imani in his palm as if to crush her. Imani's tears fell, and for a moment, her vision blurred. "Please...don't..." She muttered, wheezing due to the restraints. Flowey's smile fell, and he went straight-faced, staring at the woman. 

For a moment, Imani felt a small glimmer of hope, as the monster flower seemed to be rethinking his ways, but that small flare was diminished as soon as she heard a cackle. Flowey's horrifying, full-toothed smile was back, and his pupils were pricked into needle points like a madman. "You wouldn't last too long even if I DID spare you! You aren't part of this story! You don't know how this place works!" He said. His face got closer to Imani in a threatening way, smile large and pupils dilating slightly. "You're just like your daughter." He said, and his giant hand started to crush Imani. Flowey had intended those to be the last words Imani ever heard. He thought his plan would be back on track, and that Kennedy would never have even known that her parents came after her. 

That is, until he felt a searing pain in the back of his head. "Aaagh!" He yelled, dropping Imani's paralyzed body to the ground, causing her to groan in pain and focus on just breathing, as that was now something she had to make an effort to do. Flowey turned in rage as he felt the vines falling around him, and everything seeming larger as he shrank. An unhappy female goat woman stood in front of him, hands glowing with magic, keeping an aura of the same color around him as his form slowly turned back to his normal flower state. He could feel himself trembling under the woman's gaze, and a feeling of utter shock ran through him, for some unknown reason. 

The tool that had been dug into his side earlier hurt significantly more now, but he forced himself to ignore it as he stood off with the woman, mentally cursing himself for shivering. Toriel used her magic to shrink him back down to a normal size, watching him shake out of fear, pupils contracting. Her eyes narrowed at the flower in front of her, the very same flower that had tormented or attacked other children before she found them. In a moment of pure anger, a magic aura resembling black and white fire surrounded a chunk of dirt in the ground, lifting it from it's normal place, leaving a crater. The dirt lifted above the flower, and in an instant, was dropped on him, burying him before he could say anything and before Toriel could think twice. 

The dirt forcefully buried him under the ground, covering him completely as he burrowed further away, cautious of the tool stabbed into his side. Toriel's magic died down, and she had a brief moment of guilt for her actions, before looking out on all the people the flower had injured. "Oh my goodness!" She said, eyes scanning over the clearing at all the unconscious bodies. Her hands glowed once more, this time with a more vibrant and large white aura. The same aura surrounded the men from the search team, along with Andre near the exit and Imani, now near the ray of light. From Imani's position on her back, she could not see who had saved her, but she could hear her. She sounded like a motherly, proper woman, most likely a little older than Imani herself. 

Imani's vision suddenly started going white, and her breathing slowed. Was she dying? She thought so, for a few moments, until her breathing turned to normal, and the pain abruptly ceased. Relieved, and unbelieving, she sat up quickly, to get an idea of what was going on. Andre had lifted his head, along with Piero and Simone. The other men were still asleep, but obviously no longer injured. "Oh goodness gracious...what a terrible creature, to attack so many people without remorse." The voice from earlier said softly. Imani turned in the direction of the voice, to the left behind her, catching Andre's attention. Imani's eyes widened and her first thought was to run away, which she did, scampering backwards and onto her feet, not tearing her eyes from the monster in front of her. 

The woman looked to be part goat, covered in well-groomed white fur, complete with large flopping ears and two horns at the base of them. She wore a large purple tunic with white sleeves, chest bearing a strange symbol resembling wings, a circle and three triangles arranged inside a shield-shaped seam. Her eyes widened as well, and she held up a hand as if to stop Imani. "Oh, wait, please! I do not wish to harm you...I have just saved you from a horrible creature! Is that not proof that I intend to protect you?" She said, raising a brow in confusion at Imani's action just as Andre scrambled to his feet, defensively stepping beside her. "W-What 'r you?! How did you- What did you just..." Imani started, but her sentence trailed off as she watched Piero and Simone slowly start to freak out. 

Toriel turned her head to the side to look at them as they stood, making them freeze. A few moments of silence passed by, until Toriel started feeling uncomfortable with their frozen stares. Taking the moment to observe the men, she noticed a small embroidered badge on each of their shirts, that read 'Ricera 'e Salvare~ Search Team'. 'Search team?' She thought. ".....Um-" She started, interrupted by two loud screams as the men instantly turned and ran out of the exit, back down the path they came, dust from the former bullets leaving a small trail as it fell from their clothes. "Wait a moment! Are you looking for someone? Oh..." Toriel called after them, but it was already too late, as they were out of earshot. Both Andre and Imani's eyes snapped to the goat woman at those words, Imani glancing at the bloodied bandanna now laying on the ground a few feet away, then back up to Toriel. 

"W-wha..." Andre trailed off, eyebrows narrowing as he tried to sort through his situation, eyes locked on the monster in front of him. "Y-y-yeah....w-we were lookin' for our...dead daughter..." Imani said, standing a little taller, feeling her emotions tone down slightly in an effort to block out any connecting to Kennedy. Andre looked to Imani and back to the goat woman, almost as if he was expecting an attack. Toriel noticed this, taking a minute to just stare as she figured out the best coarse of action. These two humans were obviously frightened of her, so she would have to change her approach. Toriel smiled, tucking her sleeves over her hands as she folded her paws together, a gentle look to her eyes. The less somewhat less threatening position seemed to put the female a bit to ease, at least. 

'They reacted to the mention of looking for their daughter...perhaps that is the best way to console them.' Toriel thought. She made sure her voice was soft as she spoke. "I see... I am very sorry to hear that, miss. Loosing a loved one is never easy." She watched the woman's defenses lower. "However...I fail to see what led you to the entrance of the Ruins." Toriel continued, careful not to alert Andre by moving, keeping almost perfectly still. "....W....we followed th' trail 'ere..." Andre answered, still noticeably on edge, even if he seemed a little less shocked at the being in front of him. It was certainly better than the flower, after all. Toriel's eyes widened. "You...you followed that trail here? My goodness! It is a miracle you were not intercepted by other creatures such as the flower. I am lucky to have been here..." She said, taking an experimental step forward, to see if it was alright to approach the couple. 

Both of the humans flinched and Andre took a step back, but they did not move any further, even as Toriel started taking a few more steps. Once they were in a normal talking distance, Imani couldn't help but notice how tall the goat woman was. It wasn't an abnormal height, but certainly different, as the woman was a little taller than Andre, who was 6'5. Toriel offered her hand to shake, bent slightly to the side as to not show off her small claws. "My name is Toriel. I am the caretaker of the Ruins." She introduced herself. For a minute, neither Imani nor Andre did anything, as the situation was so strange and absurd that they could barely grasp such an outward action that proved it WAS, in fact, actually happening. Hesitantly, with a shivering hand, Imani took the offer. 

As their hands met, Imani realized how large Toriel's paws were, and how undeniably real SHE was. "......I.....I'm Imani. This is my husband...Andre..." She answered, feeling a little light headed as she shook hands with Toriel. Toriel released Imani's hand, smiling down at the woman at a height just under 6 feet tall. "I see. You are the first adult humans I have ever seen here." Toriel commented. Both adults snapped out of their daze at that, instantly back in touch with reality. "Only...adults?" Andre asked, investigative tone to his voice. Toriel looked to him. "Why, yes. Usually, it is only children..." She answered, smile accidentally fading as she unwillingly remembered the children that left the Ruins. Imani's eyes widened as she put one foot forward, stressing the importance of her words. 

"Children?! Ya' mean you see children down here?!" She asked. Toriel blinked. "Well....yes, I do. I usually see them soon after they have lost their way...though, recently, I have thought about extending my search route, since the last child-" "What about Kennedy?! Did you know our little girl?" Imani interrupted, a small ounce of hope in her words. It was as if, somehow, knowing Toriel was there with Kennedy before she died would bring her comfort. Toriel went silent, eyes widening again. Andre raised an eyebrow, once again on guard, as the last monster they mentioned Kennedy to nearly killed the entire team. "Oh my....are you.....Kennedy's caretakers? Her...parents?" Toriel asked, eyes beginning to water. Both Imani and Andre were silent for a minute, and then Andre answered with a nod of his head. 

Toriel covered her mouth, tears pricking her eyes. "Oh my...Dears, your daughter is alive!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay Toriel! Goat Mom to the rescue! :-)  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Leave a comment telling me what you thought of the character's reactions! (It helps me know if I wrote it realistically or not). Thank you for reading!


	20. Through Puzzles Comes Laughter

"Haha! Nice one! Ya' got me!" Kennedy laughed as Napstablook kicked the snowball past her, which had gotten much smaller the more they kicked it. As they started playing soccer, they had found more to work with further down the 'field', were a slippery patch of ice and what looked like a golf hole waited for them. Every time they kicked a snowball into the hole, a blue flag would raise. That was the goal Kennedy was guarding. Their game had transitioned from soccer to more of just something fun to do, kicking it around until Napstablook or Kennedy kicked it into the hole they took turns guarding. They had to make a new snowball every round though, since kicking it slowly made it smaller. 

"Ha! That one took *huff* longer than I thought it would." Napstablook said, catching his breath. Both of them were sweating from their game, and Kennedy laughed as she watched the blue flag raise. "A'right...maybe that's enough playin' around." She said after catching her breath, laughing as she did so. "Yeah." Napstablook agreed, breathing normally again. Ceasing their game reminded Napstablook of just how cold it was outside, and his first thought was of Kennedy's health. He read somewhere that humans were fragile, and easily got sick or died. "Are you...uh...alright? Maybe we should get to that village the sign mentioned." He said, floating over to Kennedy as she wiped some sweat from her brow. 

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Almost forgot about the sign." Kennedy looked behind her, "Looks like the path goes on that way. But hey, that was fun! We should do it again sometime!" She said, smiling a large, toothy smile. Napstablook blushed a bit at the offer. No one ever wanted to play any games with him at all back in his monster school. "Sure. That sounds fun." He replied. And with that, they turned to proceed down the trail, leaving the 'soccer field' (or whatever it was) behind. Down the trail was another small clearing, and Kennedy instantly thought it could be another electricity maze. Napstablook noticed the worry on her face, and assured her that it wasn't another maze. 

"Whew. Good, cause the tracks woulda' been covered by snow or somethin', cause I don' see any." Kennedy replied. She still walked at a slower pace as she walked over the clearing. A piece of paper sat in the middle that read 'Monster Kidz Wordsearch Puzzle'. All of the words were clearly visible in the puzzle, however. 'Why would they put the word 'cigar' in a kid's search?' Kennedy wondered as she briefly read over the words. "...What is it?" Napstablook asked, floating to her side. "A word puzzle. Ya know, these things are pretty silly. Can't wait 'till we meet the person who set it up!" Kennedy answered, walking forward, stepping over the word search rather than on it. 

Napstablook followed her, realizing suddenly that they were now on higher ground, as over the ledge of the ground, the tops of pine trees were visible. When had they moved upwards? Maybe around the time they came to the nice cream guy? Either way, it didn't matter as long as Kennedy didn't go tumbling off the edge. The next small clearing held three things, two of which were on tables. A plate of very clearly frozen solid spaghetti next to a fork was on the first table, and an unplugged gray microwave sat on the next. Kennedy picked up a note in front of the two tables, remembering instantly that she couldn't read it. She let out a short growl of frustration.

"...I really wish I knew this language. It looks kinda' like english, so it's frustrating...." Kennedy said, lowering the paper for Napstablook to see as she spoke. "I'll have to teach you Underenglish. But, for now, I'll read it for you..." He said. Kennedy thanked him, mentally noting the foreign language was called 'Underenglish', as Napstablook began to read. "Human. Please enjoy this spaghetti. Little do you know, this spaghetti is a trap...designed to entice you. You'll be so busy eating it... That you won't realize that you aren't progressing. Thoroughly japed again by The Great Papyrus." Napstablook read, voice not giving off the intended enthusiasm in the note. 

The bottom of the note was sighed 'NYEH-HEH-HEH, PAPYRUS'. The two looked at each other. "The Great Papyrus? Like, papyrus-paper?" Kennedy said. "I...uh...what?" Napstablook replied, to which Kennedy shook her head, explaining that it was something used to create paper a long time ago, before launching into more theories and comments about the note.

"So...was he tryin' to trick someone? 'S that why all those puzzles were set up?"

"I...don't know...it says 'human'."

"Yeah, but...wait, I'm not the only human down here, right?"

"I...think you are."

"Nah, can't be. Toriel even said somethin' about a kid leavin' her before I did recently. Maybe that's this one?"

"I'm...not sure. Maybe."

"In any case, this guy doesn't seem like much of a threat. Why would he just say his whole plan like that?"

"Well, it was in parentheses."

"Haha! That's stupid, people can still read it anyway. And what kind of plan is that? Sheesh."

"...Ok, it's pretty bad. But...if these puzzles are all made for a human....maybe that 'Snowdin' town or village has something against them...."

".....That....might be true...."

"........."

"........."

"Maybe we shouldn't go there, Kennedy." 

Napstablook gave her an unsure look. Kennedy stayed quite for another few moments, before an image of her parents popped into her mind. She remembered the picture they took on her birthday and how happy they looked. She stuffed her hands into her pockets, smile failing to kick in. "...K...Kennedy?" Napstablook said, looking worried, as Kennedy's eyes seemed blank and unresponsive. 'I can't let this stop me...there's no way I'm givin' up on 'em.' She thought. A feeling of determination swept through Kennedy at the thought of seeing her parents again, and she clenched her unseen fists, smiling down at Napstablook. 

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to check it out, right? We got where to go but forwards!" She said in her optimistic tone. Napstablook was about to disagree, but the look of the sheer can-do attitude on Kennedy's face silenced that thought instantly. "....A...alright. If you think it's okay..." He complied. Kennedy smiled at him again and patted his head. "We'll be fine, Napsta! Don' you worry!" She assured him. Napstablook smiled a weak smile in return, and they started to walk down the path once more. They came to another large, flat plain of snowy land. 

"Warning: Dog Marriage." Napstablook read the sign beside the large pine tree they were in front of. "Don' see how that's a 'warning'. ...Dog marriage?" Kennedy commented, but before he could question the sign further, a monster jumped in front of them. He was a strange thing, about he size of the Ice Cap monster from before. He had a flat face with a lump stretching upwards for a forehead, four skinny legs, and two long, noodle-like arms. "Jerry?" Napstablook questioned, looking at the monster in front of him with one brow raised. "Oh...awkward...can you give me a ride home?" The little monster asked. 

His voice sounded a little scratchy and rushed, like a stereotypical cartoonish 'nerd' voice. "What? You guys know each other?" Kennedy asked as she looked back to Napstablook. "...Yeah. Everyone knows Jerry." The little ghost replied, and Jerry stuck his hand in the air. "Seriously, though. Can you help me out?" Jerry asked. "With getting home? Where do ya' live?" Kennedy asked. "He lives near the Ruins. Just follow the path back, Jerry." Napstablook said. He sounded a little fed-up with the smaller monster. No one really liked having Jerry around, as he was always judging other monsters and showing off his knowledge at any chance he had. Of course, Kennedy didn't know that. 

"But-but! I don't want to go alone!" Jerry whined. "Uh...well, we can't exactly turn back. We gotta move on..." Kennedy answered, to which the monster stomped his foot. "You have never even been here before! You can spare an hour to come with me!" He insisted. Napstablook floated in front of Kennedy and stared down into the smaller monster's eyes, his lifeless, expressionless features giving Jerry the chills. "Do not...Talk to her like that." The ghost commanded. Jerry took a step back. He had never known the ghost to be so protective. "M...maybe I'll just head back on my own." He said. 

And with that, Jerry speed-walked away, leaving Kennedy and Napstablook alone. "...Uh...he may 'ave been a snob, but he wasn't THAT bad. You, uh, really took charge there." Kennedy commented as Napstablook floated back to her side. "Yeah...I did...hmm." The ghost muttered, more to himself, thinking over his actions as they started walking again. 

*Twenty minutes later*

"Finally!" Kennedy said as she saw the spike traps blocking the exit had fallen. "I...guess the switch worked." Napstablook said. Kennedy elbowed him playfully. "An' you said it was dangerous." She teased. They walked over the metal plates, crossing a bridge going over a break in the mountain, until they reached the other side. They were about to continue, when Napstablook stopped Kennedy. "Wait. Don't move..." He said. Right as he said that, two white-furred dogs came marching up the trail, wielding large axes. Kennedy stayed still, hands on her backpack sleeves, as the dogs stood between her. 

"What's that smell?" A rough male voice came from the dog to her right. "Where's that smell?" A sweet, smooth female voice came from the dog to her left. "If you're a smell..." The male continued. "...Identify yoursemelf!" The female finished. Both dogs moved around the area, almost franticly, just to end up back at Kennedy. "Hmm..." The male hummed, "Here's that weird smell...It is not the same as the one from before...but it still makes me want to eliminate." "...Eliminate YOU!" The female added. "What the-" Kennedy started, taking a step back as both dogs flipped their hoods back, executioner axes in hand. 

"Woah, wait a minute!" Kennedy said. "Hmm?! It talks!" The male dog said. "A talking smell? A smell of *sniff-sniff*...pinewood." The female added. "I-I'm not jus' a smell! I'm a person! Don' attack me, I didn't do nothin'!" Kennedy explained. As she spoke, she noticed both the dog's eyes were glassed over with gray. They were blind. "Well...do you have business here, weird person?" The male asked. "N-no...well, yes! My name 's Kennedy, an' I'm jus' tryin' ta' get home." She said, causing Napstablook to look up at her. "...I see. I am Dogamy." The male said. "And I am Dogaressa, his wife." The female added. Dogaressa reached out and waved her hand for a moment, before finding Kennedy's shoulder. 

"You may come this way, Kennedy." She said. "Th-thank you." Kennedy replied. Dogaressa pulled her hand away, and both dogs flipped their hoods back over their eyes. They turned and marched back along the path they came. "Oh boy....that scared me." Napstablook admitted, floating even closer to Kennedy then he had been before. Kennedy looked down at him with a few nervous chuckles. "Well, it's a'right now. An', since we have permission, let's get a move on." She said, a warm tone to her voice. She leaned slightly to grab Napstablook's side, and continued along walking with him holding her hand as much as he could in return. Or, at least, the most he could without arms. 

However, once they came to a turn in the path, Napstablook asked Kennedy to let go of him. Once she did, the ghost floated over to a sign in front of what appeared to be yet another puzzle. He didn't want her getting hurt, after all, and he had no idea what this puzzle held. "What's it say?" Kennedy asked. "Uh...turn every X into an O. Then press the switch." Napstablook read. Kennedy looked down at the glowing green lights that formed asked. "Uh...turn every X into an O. Then press the switch." Napstablook read. Kennedy looked down at the glowing green lights that formed O's in the ground. 

"Looks like someone a'ready solved it." She remarked, walking around the puzzle and smiling at the ghost. As they continued down the path, they passed another solved puzzle, along with a large grey board. The grey metal tiles could be opened and moved around, but Napstablook warned Kennedy not to mess with them. So, they walked over the grey tiles, passing a machine that likely controlled them, onwards. Once they passed that solved puzzle, they reached another stand. "Oh boy...what's this one? There's no crazy dog gonna jump out and attack us, right?" Kennedy thought aloud as Napstablook floated over to the sign beside the station. 

"Aware of dog. Please pet dog." He read aloud, mentally noting that 'please' was spelled wrong, missing the 'e' at the end. Kennedy was barely listening as she caught sight of a familiar-looking blonde dog. She quickened her pace to see the dog up close, only to find that it was not the Lesser Dog she had met earlier. She felt a slight disappointment, but smiled at the dog anyway. The dog was staring at a large mound of cylinder-shaped snow, paws lightly scraping around the edges to keep the shape. Napstablook looked inside the dog house station, catching a glimpse of a box of pomeraisins on the floor inside. 

"Woah." Kennedy muttered, a little shocked as she caught sight of another dog a little ways away. The dog had on eyeliner and eyeshadow, both matching the purple of her shirt and pants. The shirt had large, neon green spots designed on it. Napstablook floated past both dogs. "L-lets get going. We still need to find that town, remember?" He said to Kennedy, who was looking at the dumb-founded female dog. "Right! Good idea." Kennedy replied. Once they moved on, they found another already solved puzzle. The only problem was...this one was on ice. "Oh boy..." Kennedy muttered. "Careful..." Napstablook warned, but the second Kennedy stepped on the ice, she slid all the way across the ice, stopping on one of the glowing green circles. 

"Are you alright?" Napstablook asked, quickly floating in front of her. "Haha! 'M fine! Jus'...give me a sec' 'ere..." Kennedy replied. Cautiously, she stepped her foot back on the ice....only to go sliding again. "Waaahhh!" Kennedy yelled as she slipped right past the puzzle's button, sliding on a frozen over trail through lots of overgrown trees. "Kennedy!" Napstablook called, floating after her. Kennedy fell in the snow at the other end of the trail, snow from the branches of trees on her head. Napstablook was worried, speeding after her, only to find her laughing on the other end of the ice. 

Napstablook gave a small sigh of relief, looking at Kennedy with a warm expression as she laughed. She got up, brushing the snow from her clothes and hair, a slight flush on her cheeks and nose from the cold. "You okay?" Napstablook asked, smiling at Kennedy. "Jus' a lil' cold. Hey, what's ova' 'ere?" Kennedy said, running off in another direction. "Wha- Wait up!" Naptsablook called after her, following down the path. Kennedy continued onwards, catchingsight of a cave entrance. "Come on! Look at this!" She said,nearing the cave. Kennedy kept running down the trail, unaware of the strange holes in the mountain. 

Napstablook, however was all too aware of them, and the strange glowing eyes inside them that blinked shut. "What the- Kennedy! Hang on a minute!" He called, floating after her once again. Kennedy stepped into the cave entrance, Napstablook following as fast as he could, not wanting Kennedy to go in alone. "Woah..." Kennedy breathed, voice echoing on the cave walls. The floor was a beautiful blue color, and partly transparent like glass. Little floating glitters of light lifted into the air and around the two. "How pretty..." Kennedy said, lifting up her hand to touch the small speck of light, but the movement caused the light to blow away. "Wow..." Napstablook was also dazzled by the sight, and had to remind himself to keep moving as Kennedy started to walk again. 

At the end of the cave was dark cave grass sporting a few beds of glowing blue mushrooms and strange flowers. Both Kennedy and Napstablook were breath-taken by the sight before them, left speechless as they realized the little glowing specks were pollen from the enchanting flowers. Kennedy walked forward, stepping around the flowers, looking past them to a door on the cave wall. The symbol on it was very familiar, as it was also on Toriel's tunic.   
She reached out her hand and felt over the engraving, also noticing there was no handle to open the door. A feeling of sadness came to her as she did, accidentally etching a mental picture of the symbol in her mind, memorizing it. 

"Kennedy?" Napstablook said. Kennedy turned around to look at her ghost friend, who was slightly illuminated by the blue glow around him. Kennedy smiled at him, turning around and bending down to his height. Without warning, she hugged him, backpack making a slight shuffling sound as she did. Napstablook was caught off guard, unsure how to react until Kennedy began to speak. "Thank you...for, you know, everything. For stickin' by me, for helpin' me out, and bein' my friend. It...means the world to me." She said, sincerity in her tone. Napstablook blushed a bit at how truly sincere she was, nuzzling into her shoulder, the best he could do to return a hug. "Thank you too...for being my friend."


End file.
